Exploring the importance of virtues in organizational life and the role of personal and professional development in cultivating virtues. Exploring hardwired aspects, virtues, and volition at work. The importance of personal and professional development in developing virtues and values. The importance of permission to play values and the negative impact of embracing vices. The connection between virtues and professional development for employees and it benefits companies.
Virtuous employees who embody virtues such as humility, kindness, and diligence have a competitive advantage in organizations.
Aligning personal virtues with company values and embodying and modeling these virtues as a leader creates a virtuous organizational culture.
Deep dives
The Importance of Developing Virtues
In this podcast episode, the hosts discuss the significance of developing virtues in both personal and professional contexts. They highlight that virtues are not inherent traits but are cultivated through habit and exercise. The seven virtues presented from the Bible are humility, kindness, patience, diligence, charity, and temperance. The hosts emphasize the need for intentional character development in organizations, with virtuous employees being humble, kind, patient, diligent, charitable, and temperate. They also discuss how personal and professional development should start with virtues and how organizations that invest in the development of virtues have a competitive advantage.
The Relationship Between Virtues and Company Values
The hosts explore the connection between individual virtues and company values. They explain that while virtues are primarily individual pursuits, company values provide a collective framework for embodying these virtues within an organization. They distinguish between permission-to-play values, such as integrity and respect, which should be baseline attributes for all employees, and core values, which embody the unique virtues of an organization. They emphasize the importance of aligning personal virtues with company values, as well as the role of leaders in embodying and modeling these virtues to create a virtuous organizational culture.
Virtues as a Starting Point for Personal and Professional Development
The hosts assert that virtues should serve as the foundation for personal and professional development. They argue that while many professional development programs focus on technical skills, the development of virtues is crucial for enhancing overall character and becoming a better human being. They suggest that organizations should encourage employees to assess their strengths and weaknesses in relation to virtues and foster a culture of personal and professional growth. By investing in the development of virtues such as patience, humility, and diligence, both individuals and organizations can experience enhanced productivity, better relationships, and a competitive advantage.
It's always important to be intentional about the way we behave and apply our talents at work. This week, Pat, Cody and Tracy make distinctions between virtues and values.