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Giving Voice to Values
Book

Giving Voice to Values

How to Speak Your Mind When You Know What's Right

Mary C. Gentile
Yale UP, 2010

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Most people know the difference between right and wrong, but far fewer have the courage to act on their convictions when the stakes seem high, especially in the workplace. Babson College researcher Mary C. Gentile lucidly outlines and discusses the fundamentals of the “Giving Voice to Values” (GVV) curriculum she launched at the Aspen Institute in conjunction with Yale University. This ethics-based course of study is now part of more than 140 college-level business education programs worldwide. If you’ve ever kept silent despite your better judgment, GVV strategies can help you develop the skills and tools you need to speak up and take action. Gentile provides examples of how real people have dealt with complex values-based issues in corporate settings and offers a robust menu of self-assessment exercises to illuminate the discourse. getAbstract believes anyone in the workforce at any level will find great value in this approach to living and working in accord with your principles.

Take-Aways

  • Most people have a strong sense of right and wrong. They want to do the right thing, but they’re afraid of negative repercussions if they speak out publicly.
  • The “Giving Voice to Values” (GVV) curriculum assumes you know the right thing to do and need help alerting others to ethical dilemmas and suggesting the right actions.
  • Use the 12 core assumptions of GVV to implement “values-driven action.” They include drawing from your experience and realizing you have support.

About the Author

Mary C. Gentile, who holds her PhD in humanities, directs the Giving Voice to Values curriculum at Babson College, where she is a senior research scholar. Previously, she taught for 10 years at Harvard Business School.

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    A. F. 6 years ago
    How to evaluate your personal act?
    The hard part how to find your voice and organize your thoughts.
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    A. 1 decade ago
    to act on your own values is an encourage act also it is a powerfull skill, once you have distinguished between moral and ethic values of course. People use to have different moral values.
    Anyway, we have to find out the way to match our own ethic values with the company values; when it happens the organizational enviroment will be better.
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    A. 1 decade ago
    Interesting issue. However, the book would be even greater if, besides instructing readers the best way to voice up their values in the organisation, it also helps them how to act in case there are gaps between their values and the ones of their bosses, their subordinates, their colleagues and above of all, their organisation. For example, how to effectively get others buy into one's value system, or how to bridge the value gap etc.