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7. Struggling with close calls? Bring focus and clarity to the gray areas. Sometimes people get in
trouble because they don’t understand the underlying mismatch between values. Few people have
any trouble with clear-cut values clashes; it’s the close calls where ill-thought-through positions get us
in trouble. You should be able to pro and con various values. You should be able to help people think
through when to break a confidence or when loyalty to the organization supersedes loyalty to an
individual. What are the common values clashes you deal with? In these situations, you need to be
able to argue both sides of the question. Hedging on your tax return and padding of an expense
account—is that the same or different? Working with or firing a marginal performer? Cutting quality or
raising the price? Firing someone for drug abuse and serving alcohol at company functions?

8. Too independent? Recognize that you don’t operate in a vacuum. You set your own rules,
smash through obstacles, see yourself as tough, action- and results-oriented. You get it done. The
problem is, you wreak havoc for others; they don’t know which of your actions will create headaches
for them in their own unit or with customers. You don’t often worry about whether others think like you
do. You operate from the inside out. What’s important to you is what you think and what you judge to
be right and just. In a sense, admirable. In a sense, not smart. You live in an organization that has
both formal and informal commonly held standards, beliefs, ethics, and values. You can’t survive long
without knowing what they are and bending yours to fit. To find out, focus on the impact on others and
how they see the issue. This will be hard at first since you spend your energy justifying your own
actions.

9. Constrained by your own point of view? Go beyond the facts to consider the values of others.
You may be a fact-based person. Since to you the facts dictate everything, you may be baffled as to
why people would see it any differently than you do. The reason they see it differently is that there are
different values at work. People compare across situations to check for common themes, equity, and
parity. They ask questions like who wins and loses here, who is being favored, is this a play for
advantage? Since you are a here-and-now person, you will look inconsistent to them across slightly
different situations. You need to drop back and ask what will others hear, not what you want to say.
Go below the surface. Tell them why you’re saying something. Ask them what they think.

10. Stuck in the past? Adapt when it makes sense. This is a tough one. Times change. Do values
change? Some think not. That may be your stance. What about humor? Could you tell some ribald
jokes in the past that would get you in trouble today? Has television and 24-hour news changed our
worldview? Is there still lifelong employment? How long does a college education last today versus 20
years ago? Values run pretty deep. They don’t change easily. When did you form your current
values? Over 20 years ago? Maybe it’s time to examine them in light of the new today to see whether
you need to make any midcourse corrections.

Job assignments
• Manage the assigning/allocating of office space in a contested situation.
• Make peace with an enemy or someone you’ve disappointed with a product or service or someone
you’ve had some trouble with or don’t get along with very well.
• Resolve an issue in conflict between two people, units, geographies, functions, etc.
• Be a member of a union-negotiating or grievance-handling team.
• Work on a team looking at a reorganization plan where there will be more people than positions.
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