Would you work for a corporation whose core values are respect, integrity, communication, and excellence?
What if I tell you that this corporation was Enron?
This cautionary tale teaches us that just having core values is not enough. Just as organizations should have strategies for business growth, they should also have strategies for implementing its core values.
One major reason why people have difficulty abiding by core values is that these are usually given as abstract ideas.
I love what Simon Sinek said in Start with Why, “For values or guiding principles to be truly effective, they have to be verbs. It’s not integrity. It’s ‘always do the right thing.’ It’s not innovation. It’s ‘look at the problem from a different angle.’”
Here are three suggested steps on making core values stick.
First, if you are the founder, owner or CEO, lay down the core values. But have your people brainstorm the desired actions. Ask behavioral questions such as “how do you know someone has [core value]?” or “what does [core value] look like?”
Second, ask for the opposites or contrast. Some people may identify more with what not to do rather than what to do. Thus, for each answer you get from the first step, flip it.
Third, post three Do’s and three Don’ts. Why three? Because of the Rule of Three; for some reason the human brain is satisfied with groups of three such as three blind mice or the three musketeers.
Organize the output like what you see in the photo above. Then post it on prominent locations such as the office wall.
To reinforce the core values, refer to them regularly in your meetings and in HR processes such as hiring, training and even firing. But that is grist for another post.
Yes, even this exercise may not deter the occasional bad apple in the organization. But this is a great start to make core values more understandable, relatable, and most of all, actionable.
#corevalues #corevalue #corevaluesinaction #ethics #corporateculture #principles #workculture
January 23, 2023
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