Values-Based Decision Making
Soul Force at Work Series: Part 2
How to lead with clarity, courage, and integrity—even when it’s hard
There’s a moment in every leader’s life—often quiet and unseen—where you’re standing at a crossroads.
Two paths, two options.
One feels easier. The other feels truer.
These are the moments that shape not just outcomes, but identity.
And in those moments, the leaders who make a lasting impact aren’t the ones with the most polished plans.
They’re the ones who are deeply anchored in their values.
Your Values Are More Than Words on a Wall
In many organizations, values are aspirational statements—tidy words that live in handbooks or slide decks but rarely show up in the messy middle of real-life decisions.
But values-based leadership isn’t about slogans.
It’s about alignment.
It’s asking:
What do I stand for?
What matters more than results?
Where am I willing to draw the line?
When you know your values and lead from them consistently, something powerful happens:
Decisions get clearer. Even when they’re hard.
When Values Lead, Clarity Follows
Decision-making becomes less about people-pleasing or performance.
Less about what will get the quickest “yes” or the loudest applause.
And more about asking:
Which option reflects who I truly want to be?
Which path honors what matters most?
Values serve as a filter.
A compass.
A way to stay rooted when the pressure rises or the path forward isn’t obvious.
You won’t always get it perfect—but you’ll get it honest.
And in leadership, honest decisions compound into real trust.
Courage Over Comfort
Let’s be clear: values-based decisions aren’t always easy.
In fact, they’re often the harder choice.
It takes courage to:
Say no when it would be easier to comply
Choose integrity over speed
Name the truth in a room full of silence
But that’s the difference between being liked… and being trusted.
Practical Reflection
Here’s a practice I use often in my own leadership:
Name your top 3–5 core values. (Write them down. Get specific.)
Look at a recent decision—or one you’re facing now.
Ask: Which of my values is being honored here? Which one is being compromised?
This doesn’t always make the decision easy. But it does make it clearer.
And clarity, especially when paired with courage, is one of the most powerful leadership tools we have.
Final Thought
Leadership isn’t a performance.
It’s a pattern—of choices, aligned with purpose, repeated over time.
And the strongest pattern you can create is this:
Choose your values. Then let your values choose for you.
Next in the series: Leading with Vulnerability and Vision
We'll explore what it looks like to lead with openness and direction—not as opposites, but as powerful partners.
