Decisions Weighing You Down? Lean on Corporate Values.

November 20, 2024

Leaders of growth-oriented businesses face hundreds of choices every day, ranging from simple to complex. Whether big or small, the sheer volume of decisions can overwhelm even highly decisive individuals. In particularly challenging situations, overburdened leaders may start making suboptimal choices just to move on to the next burning fire.

Fortunately, there’s a hack for overcoming the decision fatigue so many employees are struggling with today—leaning on corporate values.

Reducing the mental load for faster choices

When authentic to the organization’s purpose and vision, corporate values help decision-makers feel less alone when confronting challenging dilemmas. Emboldened by guiding principles, team leaders can draw on a kind of collective intuition, rather than relying solely on their instincts or expertise.

Think of corporate values as a consistent reference point for assessing options and determining the right course of action. Having such an anchor reduces the mental load of considering every possible route, allowing for quicker, more confident choices that align with the company’s reason for being.

Built-in backup for principled decisions

Imagine a digital marketing leader is approached by a prospective client from a highly profitable industry about deploying a series of misleading clickbait campaigns. Without corporate values, dissuading the prospect could be stressful. The team leader would have to weigh the pros and cons on her own, thinking through things like profit, client satisfaction and personal ethics.

Now imagine one of her agency’s values was “Honesty always.” Her next move is not only easier, it’s almost prescribed. Because the organization’s corporate values are also supported by leaders at the highest levels of her organization, she has built-in back up for her decision to take the client down a different path, even if it means turning away a lucrative deal.

Additional advantages of well-articulated corporate values

If corporate values are not already in place at your organization, establishing them is a worthwhile effort. Beyond the reduction of decision fatigue, corporate values deliver additional benefits, such as…

·      Enhanced company culture

·      Boosted customer trust

·      Higher employee engagement

·      Attraction of top talent

·      Stronger brand identity

Amid Iowa’s fast-paced, high-growth business environment, well-articulated corporate values are more than guiding principles—they’re essential tools for making quick decisions confidently. By anchoring choices in shared beliefs, leaders navigate complex challenges with clarity, fostering a resilient workplace culture where team members know there will always be support for their values-based decisions.