ABSTRACT
Shared values and commitments provide a robust depth to an organization’s ability to achieve its purposes against daily stresses and external pressures to undermine tasks and missions. Managerial leaders should spend immense effort building a value driven organizational culture. Values imbue purpose, meaning and intention into the daily actions and focus upon the managerial triangle of connecting mission–person–task. Developing widespread knowledge of the authorizing standards of laws, rules and process is critical to instill in discretion. Trust, respect and communication allied with fairness and impartiality expand the culture and maximize expertise and accountability. The emphasis upon knowledge extends to protecting the expertise, knowledge, analysis and science required by tasks. To protect the core and deepen the organization’s ability to engage political opposition requires managerial leaders to map and engage the whole political, social and economic context. They build political support for the personnel and organization. Culture building requires relentless consistency in modeling values and educating people. Leading in complicated political environments calls upon personal and group courage and endurance to sustain culture. Managerial leading points to the need for networks of peer, professional and personal support.
