John Maxwell, the author and leadership expert, once wrote:  “Values determine the foundation of the team. And, I define personal value … as something that influences and guides my behavior, and organization’s value is something that influences and guides the team’s behavior. In the laws of teamwork, one of the laws I teach is the law of identity.”

Maxwell’s great treatise, titled “17 Laws of Teamwork,” offers a wonderful compass guiding anyone aspiring to become a true servant leader. I recommend this book to anyone who places the needs of those to whom they’re accountable and responsible above their own.

Among those laws of leadership, the law of identity — No. 13 on Maxwell’s list —  notes the following: “… shared values define the team.”

One might wonder how personal values have anything in common with the values of the businesses and other organizations for which they work. Let’s look at the differences between personal values and organizational values.

Personal values influence and guide individual behavior. Anyone who has any inkling of Maxwell’s take on leadership quickly grasps the influence piece. Leadership, Maxwell asserts, is influence. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Personal values guide and direct our lives. To surrender a personal value for the sake of a dollar leads us, invariably, down the wrong path. We must be true to ourselves.

Organizational values influence and guide the team’s behavior.

Notice how both personal and organizational values influence and guide?

Here’s where living your values is significant. If and when there’s conflict between personal and organizational values, there will be conflict with individuals throughout the organization.

This implies, of course, the organization has taken the time to identify its values.

Far too many organizations have yet to identify what they value. Far too many organizations either haven’t developed their vision and mission statements or fail to follow what they’re written. The significance of identifying a value proposition for any organization should never be overlooked.

We hear and see these issues a lot in organizations.  It’s becoming a rallying cry for people leaving organizations. We hear comments like the these:

“They’re asking me to do things they don’t follow.”

“Oh, we don’t do that stuff here.”

“I have no idea what our vision or mission is.”

“I’m not sure what our values are.”

When conversations circle around things like vision, people invariably speak of the “head” — as in this is something people with “Os” in their titles desire. When conversations circle around things like values, we really begin to get down to the “heart” of the matter.

Maxwell stated: “… values are the heart and soul of your organization.”

They give your organization purpose, meaning and significance. People will leave bad bosses, for sure. But people also will leave organizations that have no apparent purpose, meaning or significance.