Most people would say they are principled if you ask them. But if you drill down a little more, many will have difficulty telling you what exactly their principles are. Asked when they consider them, you’ll get blank look and a shrug. As I’ve progressed in my career, it’s become increasingly apparent to me how important clear principles are for short and long term decision making. If you aren’t quite sure what your principles are take some time to consider the characteristics that are most important to you. How do you want to be thought about by people chatting about you when you aren’t around? What are the broad but important considerations and values that guide your decision making? Grounding yourself in your principles is crucial to success – here are three reasons why you should have guiding principles.
They inform decision making
Throughout your career you will be challenges with decisions. Some of the decisions will be easy (do I give a raise to a staff member who is excelling in their role). Some will be much more difficult (do I give a raise to a staff member who is doing a mediocre job, but who has a great attitude and who I think is under-paid based on their job description). At what point do you push back against the boss if their direction is wrong? Principles help you take a big step back and ensue he short term decision aligns with the longer term vision of what you want to accomplish as a leader. Without considering your principles, you risk making one-off decisions that could be overly influenced by negative things (for me the need to be liked) at the expense of the “right” thing to do. By grounding your decision making, you are aligning your decisions with your values.
They help you manage stress
Stress at work can be debilitating. One of the most challenging situations to find yourself in is when you are attempting to manage a situation where some or many parts are out of your control. In communications this is a frequent struggle. Often in issues a management, the problem or issue is create by operational decisions. Communications seeks to explain and excuse the issue. But the decision that caused the problem and steps needed to fix the issue are often well outside communication’s scope of responsibility. For me, this lack of control creates significant stress. I worry about whether I’m providing the best counsel and sometimes feel debilitated by potential future repercussions of a bad call. That’s where I can fall back on my principles. If I am grounded in my own truth and the values and beliefs that I hold dear, it is much easier to stay in the present and avoid the rabbit hole of second guessing and stress. When I make a mistake (as I inevitably do), there’s something solid to fall back on and a clear values based rationale to remind myself of. Making principled decisions has been a key stress reliever in my later career.
People notice principled people
Sure you might be able to get ahead for a little while if you live in a world of short term gain. But longer term, in my experience, people gravitate toward those with clear and confident principles. It’s principles that many point to as an archetype leadership trait which inspires staff and colleagues to achieve greatness. I think part of the reason this is the case is that principles present a clear barometer of stability in values that people crave. Good principles draw good people and are the bedrock of great leadership.