The importance of alignment in leadership
As I wrote in my book, Reunion: Leadership and the Longing to Belong, “we who lead companies cannot heal all that ails the world. But we can heal much more than we pretend. … to do this work is to do the most important task of a lifetime.” In this contentious political and cultural moment, when government is suppressing dissenting voices, leaders cannot afford to be timid about their values, beliefs, or inner and outer alignment.
If you’re a leader, you owe it to yourself and your team to stand firm in your beliefs—to create a business that has ethics. Your values and social mission should shape the culture you create. That’s how your team takes pride in being part of a company that makes a difference. And not just “as abstract concepts,” as Greenfield wrote in his resignation letter, but in practice.
However, it’s easy to become estranged from your original core values, and easier still if the company you built has morphed into something entirely unrecognizable. I’ve seen clients lose their sense of self through the dismantling of a business’s core beliefs. I have also watched many leaders lose their power because they no longer recognize the mission that once fueled them. If something doesn’t feel right, then it’s often because the mission you set out on is no longer in view. When that happens, you have to pull back and re-center.
Remembering your core values
I tell people to find their why when their team or their company is unidentifiable. If you start by remembering these core questions, then you will begin to find your center again.
What was your goal when you became a leader?
What are the values and ethics you stood by?
Are those same concepts visible today? Why or why not?
What changed? What was altered and by whom or what?
What obstacles do you need to remove to get back to your center?
Most important, what truths have you avoided because they were too costly to name?
Sketch it out. At the center, place the things that matter to you the most. From there, draw lines to the ways those things were first realized and then draw more lines to the ways they began to fade. What still holds true? What has been eradicated? One of the biggest leadership myths I hear is “It’s too late.” It’s never too late to lead from your heart. It’s never too late to do the right thing.
Why the legacy you leave matters
Wherever you are on your leadership journey, you can reshape the business you began. Leaders, it’s never too late to reclaim your seat or to speak out against the things that stifle your voice. In the end, the lives you touch and the company you built are what matter.