Negotiating Turbulence: Purpose Based, Values Driven Leadership

The ideology, or culture, of any organization is a function of a unifying purpose and a set of values that frame decisions and behaviors. A purpose is the principal unifying force towards defining success. However, that success is not at all cost. This is where values come in. Values are the rules that frame decisions and behaviors. Purpose and values form the way individuals of the group think, work together, motivate, coach, communicate, and transform.

During times of turbulence, when things are confusing and difficult, you, the leader, will remind your followers of your purpose, their purpose, and you will be pointing your team in a direction that is clear. In addition, as a leader of character, values will be consciously considered in every decision and behavior. Leaders who can do this will be followed despite the turbulence of the time.

This book will take the reader on an inward journey to affirm or discover individual purpose that will give life meaning and individual values that will frame individual behaviors and decisions. This will take the reader to a place where the group's purpose and values can be affirmed or discovered. his discovery, or reaffirmation, allows the leader to be intentional about forming the ideology, or culture, that will define the group or organization they lead. The effort to form a culture based on purpose and values forms the basis for the last three sections of the book of which are essential to leading effectively: transformational leadership, coaching, and motivating constituents.

I truly believe that people want leaders who are reflective, who have discovered their personal set of values, and who authentically articulate and model those values while respecting the values of others. Further, a leader without a wholesome purpose will have a greater opportunity to rationalize bad behavior and poor decisions as opposed to a leader who has a purpose that extends beyond self-serving motives.