DEVELOPMENT & VALUES

Leonard JoyDSA November 2010

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Development and Values

Messages:• Values develop in both individuals and society.

• Values development should be our development goal.

• Values development has significance for how we practice.

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Three elaborations

• Societally, values are expressed as societal norms that can be seen to progress, or regress.

• Societal development can be measured by progress on the path of values development.

• Values shifts can be measured.

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What values are• Our values are revealed in the priorities we express in

our behaviour—in the choices we make, habitually or reflectively.

• We might hold a value but:– it might not take priority in all situations– we might aspire to it but have not lived into it.

• 125 values have been identified, defined, and ordered on a values development trajectory by Hall and Tonna.

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Values develop• From birth we learn the benefits of

conforming to social expectations—norms—and the costs of not conforming to them–we become acculturated.

• As we grow older and assume new roles, new demands are made on us and we acculturate to these, too.

• Crises require us to adapt to new priorities.

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We are pulled forwardThus, while we are driven forward

• by the need to confront new realities,

also, as we come into our own personhood,we are pulled forward

• by values aspirations—externally or internally prompted.

We aspire to be better than we are.

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Values require skills

• ~1500 skills identified—instrumental, interpersonal, imaginal, systems skills.

• Values develop by building on competencies as values we aspire to become lived into.

• We can distinguish foundation values, lived values, and aspired-to values.

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Values co-evolveIndividual and societal values co-evolve.• Society is formative for individual but individual is also formative

for society.

• Think of great teachers: Jesus, Buddha, Mohammad,…; and thinkers: Galileo, Newton, Darwin,…; and reformers who championed against slavery, apartheid, colonialism,… for universal franchise and human rights…

• Interactions between societies affect them both—trade, aid and technical assistance, war, media, tourism—all have impact on norms.

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Societal development• As we become internally directed, we might

come to question societal norms and practice non-compliance.

• Collective non-compliance might become powerful enough to delegitimize those norms.

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Values development process

• As we age—infant to adult….—new demands are made on us requiring shifts in our priorities. (in West: school, job, marriage…)

• We might also face crises that require us to adapt to new realities. E.g. chronic disability.

• We might even be shaken by new ideas—an epiphany that calls us to change our lives, to reconform our values. E.g. GW irreversibility.

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Phases and stages• Values cluster into four phases each with two

stages labeled as follows:– Phase I: Stage 1: Safety; Stage 2: Security – Phase II: Stage 3: Family; Stage 4: Institution– Phase III: Stage 5: Vocation; Stage 6: New Order– Phase IV: Stage 7: Wisdom; Stage 8: World Order

• The transition from Stage 4 to Stage 5 is key—from externally to internally directed, from ‘me’ focused to ‘we’ focused and increasingly wider sense of ‘we’.

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Values development in society• The stages of values development in the individual are

recapitulated in society.

• They can be characterized by the style of leadership/authority they express:– Authoritarian– Paternalist– Managerial– Facilitative– Collaborative – Servant leader– Visionary

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… and in collectivities generally

• Collectivities of all sizes move through these stages

• Support for innovation calls for understanding the value shift—and hence skills—demands of innovation

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Whose values?• While a given value can be expressed

differently in different cultures the values development path is the same for all.

• Individuals have unique values development paths, so also do societies. “There are many paths up the mountain.”

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What it means to be human

• Humans are unique in their capacity for values development.

• Humans are unique in their urge to find meaning to guide their lives.

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History as values development

History can be seen as story of values development and regression.

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Progress as values development

Social progress can be seen as progress in values development—societal maturation.

Values development the goal of development practice.

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If values development our goal…

• We would need to walk our talk—model progressive ‘we-centered’ behaviours. M&E would monitor this.

• If we aimed to nurture societal progress we would aim at a relationship of inclusive facilitative collaboration that modeled progressive values shift.

• The PNG story.

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The PNG story• Local team• Senior department officials--stories to system map• Identified concerns• Shared with populace, tested, amended• Identified objectives• Repeat—shared with populace, tested, amended• Identified entry point, means• Collaborative programme design• …and so on for implementation and accountability• Shifted in budgetary process, roles of ministries/departments

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Values and development practice

If values development were our goal…• We would note the implications for both

process and content.

• We would note the difference between end and means… [The Tamil Nadu story.]

• …and ensure that these were congruent.

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Process and ends• We would:• Support systems in self-reflection.

• Practice process consultation--allows modeling of progressive values.

• Coach local teams to do the work. [PNG story]

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Content and endsThe story of chocolate.

Cadbury, Bourneville, Fry—models of successful corporations acting for the common good:

• Good working conditions• Time off, holidays with pay• Child care• Model townships—Welwyn Garden City

Find, create, other models.They did not hire a contractor to build factory.

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Progress can be measured

• We can track progress of societal norms.

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Using values analysis• Values analysis is key to strategizing.

• It tells next steps on development path and the skills necessary to live new values.

• It shows what values gaps need to be filled.

• It helps in creating functional teams

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Summary recap• Values develop in both individuals and

society.

• Values development should be our development goal.

• Values development has significance for how we practice.

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Sustainability requires development

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Human survival