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Its All About Values

Written by: Allen Hatton

Article Overview: Whether you recognize it or not, values are at the heart of what you’re doing and where your business is headed. Think of it as being like gravity. Whether you believe in the concept of gravity or not, it is going to impact everything you do without regard to your belief. We are all driven by our values, so, it only makes sense to figure out what your values are and then see how they match up with those of your employees. Of course finding out what their values are is another story that requires yet another type of effort. For now we will just look at YOUR values and those of your company.

Its All About Values

Whether you recognize it or not, values are at the heart of what you’re doing and where your business is headed. Think of it as being like gravity. Whether you believe in the concept of gravity or not, it is going to impact everything you do without regard to your belief. We are all driven by our values, so, it only makes sense to figure out what your values are and then see how they match up with those of your employees. Of course finding out what their values are is another story that requires yet another type of effort. For now we will just look at YOUR values and those of your company.

I think about half my time with clients this week ended up in conversations about values which then ended up in “values” based solutions. I know that many of you out there probably think this is a bunch of “fairyfied foo foo” and that’s fine. I use to think the same thing myself until I took the time to learn what makes leaders and organizations successful over the long haul. So what is a “Values” based solution? First, we need to understand what values are and how they drive us.

It is simply a matter of fact that we hear this stuff all the time but, how many of us stop to think – “what is it that we value”. I have found listing some values to be very helpful in identifying my own and/or those of the organization. For example: Accountability, Authenticity, Balance, Beauty, Compassion, Client Focus, Concern For Others, Courage, Creativity, Collaboration, Diversity, Empathy, Excellence, Family, Fun, Health, Honesty, Humor, Integrity, Kindness, Loyalty, Perseverance, Responsibility, Respect for Others, Security, Serenity, and, of course, Win-Win ( as opposed to win-lose).

So it’s easy to see that what I value will drive my behavior. If I value fun, I’ll find a way to have some despite the ongoing work situation, and if I’m working for some uptight workaholic that hasn’t cracked a smile in thirty years it is likely that I will leave that company in short order. If I value security, working on sales commission is likely to cause me a lot of heart ache. If I value work above all else I am going to have trouble with the Gen Xer’s that actually want a life outside of the office. Okay, now we come to the tricky part. We have to connect our values with our behavior.

If I value honesty, I can’t tell my customer service rep to tell the client that the job shipped when it’s still sitting on the printing press. I can’t say I value respect for others and then leave my executive team sitting in the conference room waiting for me while I take an important call. So, if we identify our corporate values we have guiding principals around which we can hire and fire and run the business regardless of the personalities involved. I personally have a high value for collaboration and cooperation and therefore had a great deal of trouble working with a former associate that liked to go off on her own and figure everything out. I needed the collaboration to get my right brain working in harmony with the left brain.

A values based solution is simply applying accountability to the value structure that is in place. If we value customer service above all else then we don’t tolerate an employee that won’t go the extra mile to satisfy the customer. If, as an organization, we value balance we won’t tolerate a leader that allows his managers to regularly work super long hours. And if we place extreme value on hard work above all else we won’t allow folks to work for us that like to leave on time.

Our vision can change, our mission can change, our strategies can change, but our values are the one constant around which all else flows.

If you would like some help in identifying what your values are and how to apply values based solutions in your organization then give me a call.

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