Digging Deeper: the Laddering Interview, a Tool for Surfacing Values

Abstract

Personally held values play a fundamental role in business. As such, it is critical that students understand the nature of values pertaining to the workplace. Using an innovative classroom exercise, laddering, business students interview individuals to identify values that influence choices. Objectives are to help students understand the role of personal values in decision making, develop the ability to respond effectively to workplace demands, respect diverse perspectives, and achieve a better understanding of their own values. Measures used to assess these learning objectives revealed that many students gained valuable insights. After participating in the exercise, students wrote passages in which they articulated how their values affected their decision-making behavior, described in detail how the exercise improved their improvisational skills, and helped them gain respect for others' viewpoints. Furthermore, a quantitative survey provided evidence that students may have experienced a greater understanding of their own values after participating in the exercise.