When I help organizations articulate their core values, the lists look very similar. I often see values that are variations of integrity,” “honesty,” “service,” “excellence,” “quality,” “trust” and “stewardship.” That’s fine as long as people really mean those values; after all, they are the same values and concepts that have motivated people’s highest efforts for centuries.
The real value is in what happens before the final list of values is drawn up and what happens afterward. What needs to happen before is an organization-wide process of some kind that engages participants, including the organization’s leaders, in discerning what their highest values are and need to be. The process here truly is as, or even more important, than the product; it is the conversations like what people care about, what gives them pride, what their customers need, what motivates them and what turns them off that eventually yield understanding about what really matters and what will serve as the organization’s compass.
What needs to happen afterward is that the values truly serve as the compass for decisions and behavior. When confronted with choices like investments, potential business directions, hiring, discipline or what to communicate, leaders need to incorporate consideration of values in their deliberations. In my work with many independent physician practices, I witnessed the unraveling of several joint business ventures and merged practices when differences in cultures or practice values were not sufficiently taken into account.
I’ve watched other physician groups and professional practices struggle and in some cases derail on account of hires that were values mismatches, recognition for production despite behavior that violated values, and pay schemes that sent the wrong messages.. Most importantly, in any organization the leaders, including board members or trustees, need to model desired values; when they don’t, values quickly lose credibility and their power. The culture and leaders’ behavior need to grant “permission” and even encourage feedback or “flags” that call attention to any dissonance between values as stated and values as practiced.
Leaders that do the best job of articulating and modeling their values will be the ones who inspire the greatest trust and engage their followers. Organizations that effectively articulate, model and reinforce values that resonate with their members will win the talent wars in coming years. All who demonstrate values that are important to customers will enjoy a distinct competitive advantage.
What are your organization’s stated values?
How do you see those values modeled and reinforced? How don’t you?
(Adapted from Chapter Two, Identity, in Al’s new book: Navigating Integrity – Transforming Business As Usual Into Business At Its Best)
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