How can you increase the value of your values?

It was a bit awkward. Ten people in the group & only two could remember one of their organisation's core values. Luckily they both recalled a different one 😉.

These were professional people, highly committed to the work in front of them, & working in a high pressure environment to do stuff that really matters. When I asked them how they saw their organisation's values showing up in their day to day work they couldn't answer, because they didn't know what they were. (It didn't mean that the values weren't showing up, but they wouldn't know if they were or weren't.)

It struck me again what a missed opportunity it is when "shared" values haven't been woven through the language of an organisation so that everybody can see & feel them at work - guiding decisions, priorities & approaches. Helping people to gauge what to say 'yes' & 'no' to, shaping how meetings are experienced, & how things are communicated.

If someone's behaviour is not contributing to desired results, values are a "way in" to having a conversation about what needs to change.

If someone's behaviour is producing great results, we can identify the link to values & recognise their contribution.

Using the language of our shared values can support us all to keep doing good work.

How could you increase the value of your organisational values?