Why did you show up at work today? Whether to gain authority, help others, make money, or have fun, the answer most likely connects to your values. Organizations have values too, whether declared or implied. Organizational culture is formed by the values of leaders, which can be revealed in executive assessment.
On episode 128 of The Science of Personality, cohosts Ryne Sherman, PhD, and Blake Loepp discussed why values are so crucial to executive selection. “Values represent our key drivers, our philosophy of life,” Ryne said. “They motivate us in ways that we often aren’t even aware of.”
In this article, we consider values and fit. Please note that when we refer to fit, we’re talking about alignment between a person’s values and the demands of the role, team, and culture. With that context in mind, let’s discuss executive assessment and organizational culture.
Values Alignment and Executive Success
When decision-makers evaluate people for executive roles, they typically look at skills, leadership experience, strategic vision, and industry expertise. But values are often overlooked. That’s where executive assessments offer benefit. “Ultimately, we want to make sure that the values of executives are in congruence with the values of the organization,” Ryne said. “It’s about getting the right set of values together to help that organization thrive.”
When organizations get values alignment wrong, the consequences can be dire. Consider AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner. While AT&T has a culture focused on engineering, Time Warner’s was more about content creation. When you try to merge a culture that values process and control with a culture that values imagination and innovation, you get executive conflict. After only four years, AT&T sold Time Warner at a loss.
How Executive Assessment Reveals Values
At Hogan, we describe values using the 10 scales on the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI). The MVPI assesses what we desire and strive to attain, such as visibility, relationships, structure, or quality. (These correspond to the MVPI scales Recognition, Affiliation, Security, and Aesthetics, respectively.)
To find out what an organization’s values are, assess the values of top executives. For instance, the executive leadership team at Hogan Assessments shares the value of MVPI Science, which indicates a preference for data-driven, analytical decision-making. Ryne gave several other examples of executive values affecting organizational culture:
- A business accounting firm - MVPI Commerce
- A high-end computer software company - MVPI Hedonism and Aesthetics
- A chemical company specializing in plastics - MVPI Science
- A military special operations organization - MVPI Tradition
- A functional, practical apparel brand - MVPI Commerce and Altruism
- A luxury apparel brand - MVPI Aesthetics and Power
He pointed out that companies in the same industry don’t necessarily have the same values, as in the case of the two retail brands. “In a succession plan, the candidates you would consider for one apparel company would be very different from the candidates you would consider for the other,” he said.
Leadership Values and Cultural Change
Once an organization has a good idea of internal leadership capabilities (and the capabilities of external candidates, if applicable), the key question changes. It’s no longer whether someone will be a good leader in general but whether that executive is going to be effective in this role right now. The organization must consider whether the executive candidate’s values match culture needs, either the current culture or the desired culture.
“This is one of the most critical questions for an organization to ask during executive transition or succession planning,” Ryne said. “Do we want the future leader to change something about our culture? Are we happy with the current culture, or are there strategic shifts we need to make?” Although leaders have an extensive influence on organizational culture, they can’t effect cultural change without buy-in from the rest of the organization. An executive whose values are dramatically different from the existing organizational culture risks rejection.
Talent leaders and those who are making succession planning decisions face challenges to find someone who matches the core values but can also bring change.
Unconscious Biases in Executive Selection
To build an equitable succession planning strategy, organizations must use an objective, scientifically validated approach to evaluating a candidate. Executive assessments focused on values will predict how candidates are likely to fit with the culture. Ryne addressed the common misuse of the wordfit: “Far too often, organizations will say they’re hiring for fit, but fit is often used to cover up personal biases.”
These unconscious biases can include age, sex, gender, race. ethnicity, and affinity bias. Affinity bias, also called similarity bias, is giving preference to people who seem similar to us based on arbitrary criteria (e.g., alma mater, style of dress, preferred sports team).
“Fit can be scientific and objective,” he continued. “Assess a candidate’s values, compare those to the values of the organization, and decide empirically how this person will fit with the organization.”
Executive Assessment and Cultural Stewardship
Executive search professionals play a significant role in the future culture of the organizations they serve. Ryne uses the term cultural stewardship to indicate how HR leaders and executive search consultants steer organizational culture. Cultural stewardship means helping an organization impact its culture by curating executive values. What kind of future culture is desired here? In which direction might values need to shift? What executive assessments and selection criteria will achieve the most desirable outcomes?
Sometimes organizations need help letting go of values that are no longer effective. “Cultural stewardship says, ‘This is the culture you need to bring in. Let’s find you the executives who can shift your culture in a way that remains true to who you are,’” Ryne said.
Assessing executives using the MVPI and comparing leadership values with results of cultural evaluations can reveal alignment or misalignment in organizational culture. Analyze values in depth by comparing executive assessment results with cultural survey findings. “Start with those executives, get their values, and talk about what that pattern of values means for the kind of culture they’re creating,” Ryne said.
Listen to this conversation in full on episode 128 of The Science of Personality. Never miss an episode by following us anywhere you get podcasts. Cheers, everybody!