Do you know your most important values? This is my question to the students of my lecture Business Ethics and Sustainability when it comes to the basic concepts of ethics.
Most of the students nod. Of course, they know their values. But as soon as we go deeper together, it becomes clear that values are often there, but rarely conscious. And even more rarely prioritized.
To change that, I use an exercise from Furkan Karayel’s book Inclusive Intelligence. An exercise that at first glance seems playful and then turns out to be amazingly transformative.
The task: Select 20 values. Reduce to the 5 nominations and choose the personal “value Oscar” from it and optionally give a short laudatio for this value.
What sounds playful leads to surprisingly deep conversations.
Why do I do this exercise?
> Because ethics does not begin with Kant, but with ourselves. If we know our own values, we can better classify ethical questions.
> Because prioritisation makes conflicts visible. Freedom vs. security, loyalty vs. justice. Values are often in competition and are an introduction to the topic of Balanced Scorecard.
> Because diversity can be experienced. Different cultural influences lead to different value landscapes.
> Because the “Values Oscar” brings ethics to life. When students give a laudatory speech on courage, justice or belonging, theory becomes identity.
> Because values are the basis of responsible leadership. Those who know their values make clearer decisions and communicate more authentically.
The exercise is an introduction to a basic concept of ethics. And it is an introduction to the topic of leadership. From self-reflection to insight, from diversity to connection, from theory to application in reality.
And now I’m interested: How did you discover and consolidate your value landscape?
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I’m Bernd Scharbert and I teach business ethics and sustainability at Albstadt-Sigmaringen University.
In my consulting work, I support you as a manager in implementing intercultural guidelines in your everyday life. You are also welcome to take a look at my book. “Prepare for Landing: Guidelines for Intercultural Leadership.” It is available everywhere in bookstores.
