Christian J. Resick, Michael W. Grojean, Scot Bemis, Greg Dardis, Marcus W. Dickson, and D. Brent Smith, “From Values to Performance: Theory, Practice and Implications” presented at the International Leadership Association conference November 1-4, 2001 in Miami, Florida, USA. Available online at: http://www.ila-net.org/Publications/Proceedings/2001/cresick.pdf - 1 - Selected Proceedings from the 2001 annual conference of the International Leadership Association, November 1-4, Miami, Florida USA From Values to Performance: Theory, Practice and Implications By Christian J. Resick, Michael W. Grojean, Scot Bemis, Greg Dardis, Marcus W. Dickson, and D. Brent Smith Throughout all aspects of society, there appears to be an ever increasing amount of attention given to the topic of values. From discussions of family values, to a political candidate's values, and even the importance of an organization's or a society's values, there appears to be a growing acceptance of the belief that values make a difference in the way people behave. Some researchers suggest the cognitive choices people make are a reflection of the things they value (e.g., McClelland, 1985). Others contend that values provide the motivation for the choices that people make and the actions that people take (e.g., Locke, 1991). Values are a particularly important aspect of ethics, which involve the evaluation of and enactment of values (Gini, 1996), by guiding an individual's determination of what are ethically appropriate and inappropriate decisions and actions. While there is arguably a close relationship between values and behavior, the relationship between values (or ethics) and performance is much more obscure. The latter relationship involves a complex set of factors as the values of multiple constituents (e.g., personal, co-worker, leader, organizational, societal) all influence behavior in some way, and the determination of performance standards likely changes with each of these constituents. For example, whose values, and what values should be related to performance? How can organizations ensure members share a set of "core" values? And what role do leaders play in establishing a link between values, ethics, and performance? To begin the process of identifying and addressing these issues, we presented a panel discussion at the 2001 ILA conference in which an eclectic group of academics and practitioners discussed their views on values and ethics, their relationship to work