Strategy #2A: Clarify your organization’s values statement, distinguishing between values, behaviors, and outcomes

Most company “values statements” are really a blend of values, behaviors, and outcomes. Understanding how these three qualities interact can help you more effectively establish your position as employer of choice in your community. Consider:

Values:  Integrity is a core value – a philosophical statement that undergirds thinking, decision-making, habits, and actions; there is no distinction between personal, professional, or business principles at the level of core values – integrity is the same in every sphere.

Behaviors:  Professionalism is a behavior, a way of acting that is outwardly observable and situation specific.  The consummate professional at work might not seem so professional at the bowling alley or while cleaning the garage.

Outcomes:  Quality, service, productivity,and profitability might appear on the corporate values statement, but they are not values, they are outcomes; they are measurable, and can be compared with results from other organizations.

Here’s why this is important. Let’s say that you would like to enhance customer service. The next question is, what behaviors must change for you to achieve that outcome? Obviously, it would help if people would smile and take a genuine interest in your customers.  Now, what core value would you need to tap into in order to encourage this particular behavior? How about Enthusiasm (Core Action Value #6)?  Don’t enthusiastic people behave in ways that create “raving fan” customers?
Understanding how this continuum works – from values to behaviors to outcomes – will help you be more effective at achieving your desired results. One of the reasons so many “customer service” programs fail to have a sustained impact, for example, is that “let’s do it for the customer, let’s do it for the boss” carries a pretty shallow motivational punch where the rubber hits the road. You’re far more likely to have a lasting impact by showing people how being more enthusiastic will help them be more effective parents and happier human beings; do that, and customer service excellence will take care of itself.

Look at your organization’s statement of values.  What is the balance between values, behaviors, and outcomes?  How can understanding this continuum help you do a better job of gaining buy-in, and thus loyalty, on the part of your people?  Does going through this process lead you to think that perhaps this would be a good time to revisit, and possibly to rewrite, your current values statement?

“Identifying the core values that define your organization is one of the most important functions of leadership. The success or failure of this process can literally make or break an organization.”

Ken Blanchard: The Heart of a Leader

Strategy #2B: Clarify the linkage between personal values and organizational outcomes

One of the things I’ll do when working with an organization is create a matrix with The Twelve Core Action Values – which are personal values – down the left-hand side, and the organization’s values (including values, behaviors, and desired outcomes) along the top. This matrix helps us think of ways that helping people be more effective at living their values can help the organization do a better job of realizing its goals. Following are examples of outcomes organizations typically strive to achieve, along with the personal values that create what motivational speaker Zig Ziglar calls the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?) factor:

Desired Outcome – Productivity:  I never cease to be amazed at the huge variances in productivity between different companies operating in the same industry. As just one example, my client Auto-Owners Insurance is more than twice as productive as their industry norm.  It is no coincidence that Auto-Owners has explicitly included Loyalty as one of its core values. When the company commissioned me to write a curriculum based on those values, they specifically wanted it to include practical actions that could help their people be more productive in their personal lives, knowing that it would be reflected in their work life as well. What can you do to help your people do a better job of managing their time, their energy, and their priorities?

Desired Outcome – Customer Service:  Have you ever been served by someone who said all the right words, but was obviously just mouthing a script? On the other hand, someone who is genuinely cheerful and enthusiastic doesn’t need a script. Perhaps one of the most important observations I’ve made in the past dozen years of teaching values-based life and leadership skills is that most people (I’d say almost everyone) would like to be more energetic, more enthusiastic, and more positive. How can you systematize personal energizing through a combination of training, rituals, a supportive environment, and the other techniques that I’ll share in this white paper?

Desired Outcome – Safety: One of the biggest causes, if not the biggest cause, of accidents, patient medication errors, and other untoward incidents is simple carelessness, typically caused by not paying attention. This lack of awareness is also the underlying cause of much human anxiety, stress, and other emotional disturbance. That is why an entire cottage industry of meditation programs has sprung up over the past several decades. How can you help your people gain the benefits of mindfulness in their personal and family lives in such a way that the enhanced mental peace and equanimity will result in a safer workplace?

What personal values do you need to promote in order to gain optimal buy-in to your organization’s valued outcomes? How can you help your people achieve their personal and professional goals in such a way as to encourage their loyalty to your organization and buy-in to values? What training is required to make sure that your management team (at all levels) is on-board with making it a priority to invest in values, and to raise their standards with regard to attitudinal and behavioral expectations?

“Values provide a framework for living. They make it possible to weigh options and make decisions you won’t regret. When you make choices that are aligned with your values, you build your character and self-worth. When you compromise your values, you’re living a lie. The stronger your values, the more stable and secure you’ll be.”

Doug Hall: Making the Courage Connection

Strategy #2C: Revisit your organization’s values, vision, and mission statements

In my work I have the opportunity to review the values, vision, and mission statements of a wide spectrum of organizations. While some are clear and compelling, and have obvious buy-in on the part of people who work there, it’s clear to me that in other organizations not much thought has been put into making these documents current and relevant, much less deploying them in the campaign to recruit and retain great people by inspiring them with something more than just a job.

Try this: Have a group of total strangers read your values, vision, and mission statements and see if they can identify your industry, and better yet, your organization. If too many people guess that you are a sausage factory or a county health department, then it’s probably time to work on them (unless, of course, you really are a sausage factory or a public health department).

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