Why Leaders Must Prioritize Human Values Over Power: Lessons from the Harvard Business Review
There’s an article on leadership in the Harvard Business Review titled, “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” The author, Bill Taylor, posits that businesses create ill will in their customers when they take advantage of their power in the market to make decisions that value profit over people.
While working as the Director of Volunteer Services for a large human service agency, I used that same phrase to help volunteer groups understand why they needed to proceed with extreme care when working with vulnerable populations.
Many groups wanted to see first hand the reality of families living in homeless shelters. They didn’t want to just drop off donations or paint a room. The volunteers requested to spend quality time with the residents.
In these cases, I asked volunteers to think about if their own families had a basic human need that wasn’t being met, but one they couldn’t provide for themselves. What if a group of people their family didn’t know came to their house offering what they needed, but first they wanted to come into their house, look around, and play with their children. How would they feel?
The point of the story: people come first. In relationships where power dynamics aren’t equal, it is even more essential to ensure that everyone feels valued and respected. Exploitation isn’t intended in these circumstances. Yet, it can be the result.
The statement just because you can doesn’t mean you should apply just as aptly to the power dynamic that exists within an organization. As people move into leadership positions, they have to ensure that they are using their time to drive the organization forward. The problem arises when leaders justify actions that demean or disrespect other people. It is easy to fall into habits like not responding to emails or coming late to meetings because more urgent matters arise.
When human values drive what we do, people feel valued and respected. Leaders should set the example for behavior, not be the exception. Here’s a typical example that has happened in every place that I have worked. A meeting ends and everyone scurries off to their next task, leaving behind trash, pitchers of water, papers and other debris. Who ends up doing the cleaning? Often it is an administrative assistant or the cleaning staff who never set foot in the meeting. It might even be the next person using the room who loses time prepping for their meeting because they are cleaning up after someone else. The message being sent is: You don’t get to be in the meetings where decisions are being made, but you are expected to clean up after those who do.
The article in the Harvard Business Review asked businesses to identify their worst practices that have a negative impact on their most loyal customers.
What if we did the same thing within our organizations? What are the worst practices that take place that tell people they aren’t valued? What actions have the most negative impact on the staff who have the least power?
By answering these questions, leaders can determine what they should do as opposed to what they can do. When leaders put those actions into practice, they show that organizational values are human values.
Sue Elias is EVP of Parks & People Foundation in Baltimore, MD and has 25 years working in the nonprofit sector as a leader, executive, and volunteer. Reflecting on the experiences and events throughout her career, she witnessed great leadership despite limited resources or adverse circumstances – and thus, her blog content was born. Sue, a Buffalo native who knows that chicken wings should only be served with blue cheese dressing (never ranch), lives in Baltimore with her husband and 3 children. She believes that being a mother of teenagers is her greatest leadership challenge to date.
