Allow me to illustrate this by using an example; let’s take a look at reliability as a value. Of course, we all know what reliability is. However, people can have very different opinions about what behavior really makes someone reliable. For one person, being reliable could mean, for example, always delivering work by the deadline that was agreed on without exception. For the other, delivering it by the deadline 8 times out of 10 is proof that someone is reliable. These differences (in evaluating behavior) can cause friction and tension. Mutual understanding provides clarity.
For many people, values are not tangible (not yet, at least). However, values are the driving force which leads us to act; they are behind every action we perform and every decision we make. As a result, they have a significant impact on everything that happens. What better reason to dedicate yourself to something than the fact that it controls everything that happens?
How values drive decision-making
Working with values in organizations
How to make tension arising from different values workable
