BSBMGT401A: Topic 2 Enhance the organisation’s image
Enhance the organisation’s image
Reading 3: Modelling the way – the leader’s contribution to an
organisation’s image
Reading for performance criteria 2.3 Ensure personal performance
contributes to developing an organisation which has integrity and
credibility
Contents
Introduction
2
The importance of personal values
3
Implementing values and standards in the workplace
4
Reading 3: Modelling the way – the leader’s contribution to an organisation’s image
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© NSW DET 2008
BSBMGT401A: Topic 2 Enhance the organisation’s image
Introduction
Understanding our values and the source of our own motivations helps us to
set personally worthwhile goals and direct our behaviour in productive
directions.
‘Simply the Best – Workplaces in Australia’ Hull & Read 2003
After determining what an organisation’s expectations are, we then need to
monitor our own behaviour to ensure it is in line with the organisation’s
values and standards. We need to be aware of the differences between our
personal values, ethics and behaviours and how this impacts on other
individuals and groups both within and external to the organisation.
The organisational vision and values become evident in our actions as
leaders and managers. They are the evidence of our commitment to the
organisation’s vision and values, particularly the Code of Conduct The
following diagram shows the relationship between our values, our attitudes
and our behaviours.
You’ll note that what you don’t always see that drives behaviours . We do
not actually ‘see’ the values of an organisation or an individual. They are
often more conceptual than concrete but they support what we see on the
surface ie policies/ procedures etc that drive behaviours.
It’s a bit like an iceberg – you can only see the tip:
Reading 3: Modelling the way – the leader’s contribution to an organisation’s image
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© NSW DET 2008
BSBMGT401A: Topic 2 Enhance the organisation’s image
Understanding this relationship is important because our behaviours – our
words and deeds - need to be congruent. We need not only to ‘do as we say’
but to but ‘say as we do’.
To do this, we must be able to clarify our own and other’s personal beliefs
and values in order to unify people around the shared organisational values.
There are numerous benefits to unifying people around shared
organisational values:

It fosters strong feelings of personal effectiveness and commitment.
People are clear about how to operate, and to what standards.

It fosters teamwork and facilitates consensus by providing common
ground.

It encourages ethical behaviour because values are the basis of
ethical behaviour.

It reduces stress and tension because people have the tools (vision
and values) to better choose between conflicting demands.

It fosters pride because people are behaving according to their
values.

It facilitates understanding about one’s job because people know
what is expected.
The importance of personal values
Our personal values are deeply and strongly held values and principles.
They are so much a part of us that they are often buried beneath our
conscious awareness. Our personal value system covers such things as what
we believe is right or wrong, good and bad, should and shouldn’t be. It
provides an ‘inner compass’ that guides our actions and decisions.
Trying to reconcile our values with those of a rapidly changing world is
confusing and making decisions based on our personal values can be
difficult when we are under pressure. As we mature, we are exposed to
different value systems and we may decide to accept or reject these new
standards.
Cultural and organisational pressures may influence our attitudes and
beliefs; we must choose to agree or disagree with these new criteria as well.
Our values are therefore dynamic - constantly changing - and sometimes
they are loosely defined, even to ourselves.
It’s helpful to identify those values which provide direction in our lives. A
sense of purpose is essential to any plan for success. As we have seen
Reading 3: Modelling the way – the leader’s contribution to an organisation’s image
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© NSW DET 2008
BSBMGT401A: Topic 2 Enhance the organisation’s image
organisations know this, so they may spend vast amounts of energy, time
and money refining their values, visions, and standards. Without a defined
value system some people can be indecisive and inconsistent. They can
waste energy and their potential may be left untapped.
No doubt you also want to maximise your efforts to realise your own
potential, especially in your working life. Just as with a business, your
personal plans must begin with such questions as:

What do I want out of life?

What are my values?

What is my definition of success?
As we discussed in Part 1 of this unit – Leading by Example – one of the
best ways to improve your effectiveness is to better understand yourself and
others. Then you can build on that understanding to create an environment
most conducive to your success, adapt your behaviour to the needs of others,
and develop strategies to influence the behaviours of others to reflect the
organisation’s values and standards.
Implementing values and standards in
the workplace
In Topic 1 of this unit we discussed Kouzes and Posner’s 5 Practices of
Exemplary Leadership. We learned that as leaders we must pay constant
attention to how we, and others, are living the values in the workplace.
Here are some other ideas on how to ‘model the way’ and make your actions
count.
Identify the values of you, the team and the organisation and then:

Allocate time according to what is valued. Do this by checking your
diary/meeting agendas. What is the duration of these meetings, who
attends and who presents. Are these meetings consistent with what
is valued by the organisation?

Use story telling. To do this collect stories, get into the habit of
telling stories. Use analogies to support the values of the
organisation.

Remember your audience and your purpose. Stories around critical
incidents are opportunities to teach values and the norms of
behaviour. Create stories to remind people of what they have
accomplished and why the effort was worth it. Stories can be used
to reframe setbacks as learning experiences.
Reading 3: Modelling the way – the leader’s contribution to an organisation’s image
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© NSW DET 2008
BSBMGT401A: Topic 2 Enhance the organisation’s image

Use symbols, artefacts and celebrations as visible reminders of key
organisational values. Anything can be used for example, posters,
buttons, mugs, pins. Celebrations can be official and spontaneous.
They can indicate a transition, a new beginning, a loss, a tradition
and even an achievement.

Consciously design and manage the physical space where people
work. Use the space to encourage the preferred ways of interacting
and working together.
Reading 3: Modelling the way – the leader’s contribution to an organisation’s image
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© NSW DET 2008