Values Are Not Chants to be Shouted. They Are Words to Live By
Values only matter if you live by them.
Every company has a set of values. Whether or not they are written down or plastered on the wall, a company has values. Much like culture, your values are expressed through the behaviors and actions of the people who work there. Having a set of values is designed to help guide the decisions and principles by which people within an organization work and interact with others.
Companies can have different names for their values and even subsets of them depending on how they have structured their organization. They may tie into a mission or vision statement, but regardless, they are designed to help define the way a company works. The best values are short, easy to remember, and define behaviors. Some examples might be integrity, safety, innovation, inclusiveness, diversity, excellence. For the most part, any of those are fairly self-explanatory. However, it is best to provide some additional information and examples of how the values apply to the business you are in.
Too often, a new value or company vision or statement gets added and is catchy enough to be a chant or a rallying call. Be cautious of these. They may not be real values and can become trivialized if not consciously acted on. For example, something like ‘the customer rules’ or ‘we’re all in’ could be shared as values to live by. The thoughts behind them may be genuine values. Still, when they end up in people’s email signature or continually used in everyday conversation or weaponized to bully people into certain behaviors, they lose their effectiveness. You can just picture an employee asking a manager about how something will get done or the lack of necessary resources and that manager quipping back, ‘aren’t you all in?’
An Example in Action
Disney has a strong set of values (Four Keys) they utilize with cast members to make it very simple to ensure all of their front line people (and everyone else) know what to stand for and even in the order in which they are lived.
Safety
Courtesy
Show
Efficiency
Nothing outweighs safety in the Disney organization. Everything stops if it is not first safe to do so. And, by the way, if it is not safe, it certainly will not be courteous, it will not be a good show, or efficient (especially long-term).
As an example of this, my daughter participated in their college intern program. On her first day, she had dressed according to the office dress code, wearing nice sandals to match the rest of her outfit. The shoes did not comply with the dress code for being in the parks. Because that direction is there for safety purposes, and there was a possibility she might end up in a group touring the parks, she was not allowed to participate in that session until she had appropriate shoes on. It seems like something that could have been easily overlooked; after all, it was just an orientation class. They might not be leaving the comforts of the meeting room that day. But, safety is the top value, and everything stops there - even if it may not be efficient, courteous, or even very nice. It was also a powerful lesson to reinforce how they live their values.
Values show through best when times are toughest.
In moments of challenge and difficulty, your values should be a guiding light. It is in these times that you will see your values tested and stressed to their maximum limits. Many company values are seeing their truest test yet during the COVID-19 outbreak. Those with steady, well-entrenched values are guided by those principles to help them navigate the crisis in an easier fashion than others that do not have a robust set of values to serve as a directional beacon.
Values should be something people live by. Their actions and behaviors should be the demonstration of the values. Done right, no one should have to say that they are living a value. It should be apparent to everyone around them. These are the types of values you want to help steer and support yourself and your company.
How do your values guide you?
Join other retail leaders in continuing their development journey with Effective Retail Leader.com. SUBSCRIBE today to receive FREE leadership tips directly to your inbox and monthly newsletters that provide many tools to help further develop your leadership skills, all at no cost. JOIN NOW!
No spam ever - just leadership goodness.