The importance of value alignment

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines value as: (1) the monetary worth of something; (2) a fair return or equivalent in goods, services, or money for something exchanged; (3) relative worth, utility, or importance; (4) something (such as a principle or quality) intrinsically valuable or desirable; and (5) a numerical quantity that is assigned or is determined by calculation or measurement. In essence, value is defined as a paramount aspect. Furthermore, in the context of daily life, Bob Rue (2001) states that values are the essence of who we are as human beings. Our values get us out of bed every morning, help us select the work we do, the company we keep, the relationships we build, and ultimately, the groups and organizations that we lead. Moreover, our values influence every decision and move we make, even to the point of how we choose to make our decisions.

How you define value?
Photo credit to kozzi.com

Therefore, when it comes to talking about personal values and workplace values, I could not agree more with the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, who states that individual values do not stand independently from the company. In addition, when our work has a robust intersection with stakeholders: employees, suppliers, financiers, customers, and communities, the aligned values of the individuals and their workplace are more than important. Here are two rationales behind this thesis:

Firstly, certainty. The ability to provide clarity for employees is one tangible aspect of a company's clear value. Managed by Q is an office-cleaning start-up, New York-based. Justice is one of their core values. From this huge concept, the CEO, Dan Teran, broke it down into an open offer for all workers to grow. And it’s not lip service. It’s a real offering; it’s a certainty. For many workers at Q, the biggest motivator isn’t the benefits. In a company survey, the biggest motivator all turned out to be career growth—the chance to get promotions, to move up, and to make more money (Lyons, 2018, p. 194). Even though the startup has now been acquired and sold by WeWork, Managed by Q has always been a high-road employment model for other entrepreneurs. In addition, as of 2018, in 4 years, it had employed about 1,000 people and expanded into 4 other cities in the U.S. That huge success, in my two cents, would have happened during that period if there was no value alignment between the employee’s personal value and the company’s value.

Secondly, sustainability. When we talk about sustainability, it can be part of a value that a company treasures, and it can be defined as the sustainability of the company itself. Sounds confusing? I hope not! The Institute for Business Value (2022) found that 67% of potential employees are increasingly likely to apply for and accept jobs from companies they view as environmentally sustainable. On the other hand, according to McKinsey, companies with a high Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rating consistently outperform the market in both medium and long periods. Imagine if this kind of value of the employee and employer meets in the middle. On the other study, McKinsey showed that unaligned value leads to disengagement, increased turnover rates, and bad press. At the end of the day, sustainability is impossible to achieve, either for the employees’ careers or the employers’ odysseys.

Tim Cook might not be the greatest leader ever. However, his idea about the importance of personal and workplace values should be appreciated. He treasures values as the solid foundation for the organization. And Apple itself is not the greatest company ever, either. However, they are one of the huge companies in this industry. At the of the day, we can discover that we cannot separate our personal values from the workplace’s. The alignment between our values and the corporate values will give us certainty and sustainability, not solely for ourselves but also for the company, and hopefully contribute to our society in general.