Knowing and Living Your Values
Every organization has values, but not all live those values. Organizational values that are lived help the organization build a strong foundation and a strong culture.
One of my volunteer projects is for a nonprofit that is connected with a K-6 school. At a recent board meeting, the Head of School showed the board a two-minute video that blew me away.
Off camera, kindergarteners were asked if they knew the schools five values—and, remember, I said kindergarteners. In a two-minute timeframe, ten faces popped up one at a time. Many of them were missing front teeth, but that didn’t stop them from reciting the five values. They were not always recited in the same order, but as far as I could tell, they got them all.
You’re right—I have no idea how many takes it took to make something they could show to the board, but that isn’t the point. These kids knew the values, and they weren’t looking at que cards or a teleprompter. In fact, I’ll bet some of them can’t even read yet.
This prompted me to think: How many employees of any organizations know its values, and if asked, could recite them?
While values may be easy words to speak or write in a blog, organizational values can get lost in the day to day work we do. What can we do to make sure our values help us stay grounded and as productive as possible? Here are some ideas:
Remind employees often of your values—what they are and what they mean. A great way to do this is by sharing stories of employees demonstrating your values in action. I’ve heard of one organization that rewards employees when they are observed living a value.
Add your values to your email signature line for internal and external communication. Be sure they are front and center on your social media posts and on your website.
Select a value to focus on for a month. Share examples of why it is one of your values in your own staff meetings.
Keep in mind, however, that if you focus your attention on your values, you and your organization must be living those values every day. If you aren’t, trust us, your employees certainly won’t live them either at the risk of derailing your organization in a very quick time frame.
Values should be fluid. They are not something you put in place on day one and never touch again. You certainly don’t want them to be empty jargon that doesn’t reflect where your organization is today.
Reevaluate your values from time to time. Solicit input from your staff and keep them alive and in the forefront of internal and external communications. Then, maybe you can try a video like the kindergartners, and see how many of your employees know and live your organizational values.