Staged Values Initiatives

We work with your leadership team to design a structured process for nurturing The Twelve Core Action Values within your organization. Every project is tailored to your specific goals, but a typical project will include the following stages (click or scroll down for more detail):

Stage 1, Senior Team Review: This includes outlining specific steps by which The Twelve Core Action Values can reinforce the values, vision, and mission of your organization.

Stage 2, Leadership Retreat: Full-day retreat for leadership team (as defined by the organization) to launch the Values Initiative.

Stage 3, Open Staff Presentations: A series of 3-hour programs on The Twelve Core Action Values. These are both informative and inspiring, and universally get people to think about their own attitudes and behaviors in a new and more positive way. To assure a lasting impact, all participants receive an extensive take-home resource packet.

Stage 4, Spark Plug Training: Intensive 3-day program (preferably offsite) for staff accepted into the Spark Plug group. Participants receive an audio CD album and workbook to reinforce what they learn in the classroom.

Stage 5, Facilitator Training: Selected members of the Spark Plug group receive additional training to help them share values-based life and leadership skills. This includes facilitator manuals, icebreaker videos, master handout copies, and other resources.

Stage 6, Ongoing Activities: The organization receives a 20-year license to use The Twelve Core Action Values and support materials in its orientation, training, and promotional activities coupled with ongoing support from us.

Stage 1: Senior Team Review

The organization’s management team reviews The Twelve Core Action Values to determine whether it would be an effective investment in their people and their hospital, and works with Joe Tye to outline a specific approach.

One of the activities we will undertake is the completion of a matrix that shows how The Twelve Core Action Values will enhance and reinforce the
specific values, vision, and mission of your organization (see foldout page at the end of this booklet for a generic example).

You will also be encouraged to contact other previous and current clients to discuss from the perspective what has worked for them (and what they might have done differently had they to do it again).

Typical questions at this stage:

• What are our goals and expected outcomes? Will we seek to measure results, and if so, how?
• How will we promote participation in the program?
• What is the ideal “job description” for Spark Plugs, and what will we expect of them in return for giving them this training?
• What can we do to make sure that we identify leadership talent that emerges as a result of this training?
• How can we incorporate this content into other training, recruiting and retention, and orientation activities?
• Should we have separate sessions for the leadership team with a focus on values-based management skills?
• Should executives be involved in Spark Plug training, and if so, at what level of the organizational chart?
• Do we expect to build upon our own success by having Spark Plugs share with the larger community (e.g. schools and businesses)?
• Should Spark Plug training be paid time or on employees’ own time?

Stage 2: Leadership Retreat

This is to gain management understanding and support for the initiative, spark thinking about the most effective approach to optimize the impact, and to make sure that for Spark Plug training we “get the right people on the bus.” This is also an important way to give managers a heads-up so that they know what their staff are going to be told. Based on our experience, this is an essential stage in the process, and will give us a chance to:

• Share experiences of other clients and get people excited about the potential for your organization.
• Brainstorm ideas for implementation and ongoing activities.
• Give people the opportunity to ask questions and discuss any possible reservations.
• Gain buy-in to the time commitment that will be required for their staff to participate in the program (which will be a real issue).
• Use participative visioning exercises to envision the ideal values-based corporate culture (for example, a positive “support group” workplace environment).
• And not least, to share practical skills and strategies that you managers can use at work and home to be more effective both
  personally and professionally.

Stage 3: Open Staff Sessions

Joe Tye is onsite to present a series of 3-hour sessions (morning and afternoon) for all staff; special sessions can also be scheduled for night and weekend shifts. These sessions can be optional or mandatory.

Pre- and post-program consulting assures that the program will effectively address your unique goals and concerns.

Additional sessions can be scheduled for special audiences including family members of employees, medical staff office personnel, volunteers, as well as open sessions for the general community (a great public relations initiative).

Presentations are informative, humorous, and motivating. The program is appropriate for (and will be appreciated by) professional, support, technical, and administrative staff at all levels of the organization

Participants also receive great take-home resources, including handouts and mini-posters (such as The Self-Empowerment Pledge). They also receive an 11x17 worksheet to identify actions that will operationalize The Twelve Core Action Values in their personal, professional, financial, and spiritual lives (a personal version of the matrix included at the end of this booklet).

This worksheet is supplemented by an e-book edition of the Values Coach 60-Module Structured Self-Coaching Course. This 500+ page compilation features a wealth of information, ideas, and inspiration in addition to hundreds of practical ideas and more than 500 BookSparks references for “extra credit” reading.

Stage 4: Spark Plug Training

“When we shared The Twelve Core Action Values with our employees and medical staff members, the response was unanimous: ‘We need more of this!’ That’s why we followed up with an intensive values initiative to train a core group of Spark Plugs to help us promote values-based leadership in our organization, and in our community. From Authenticity to Leadership, this is who we want to be.”
Sandy Haryasz, CEO, Page Hospital

A three-day offsite training session on The Twelve Core Action Values, with an emphasis on personal and professional effectiveness. Participants are typically asked to complete an application commenting on what they hope to gain from their participation, and how they will commit to sharing that with others. Each day, we cover four of The Twelve Core Action Values.

Spark Plug participants receive a 12-CD audio album and workbook on The Twelve Core Action Values to help them internalize and operationalize these values in their lives and work. They are also added to the routing list for the Spark Plug electronic newsletter.

The number of Spark Plugs in each class is determined by the organization, but as a guideline somewhere in the range of five percent of the employee base will provide a solid base for dissemination, and a Spark Plug class should not have more than about 60 participants.

We also conduct a special one-day course for supervisors and managers specifically on applying The Twelve Core Action Values to the challenges of team building and group leadership.

Spark Plug “Job Description”

We help each organization develop a Spark Plug “job description” that is unique to its needs. Here is an example of one that was developed for a large urban hospital.

Spark Plug Responsibilities

Spark Plugs are trained in The Twelve Core Action Values, and are expected to serve as a helper and a role model for co-workers, customers, and others by practicing the skills they have learned in order to:

• Enhance quality customer care and service by living the values-based life and leadership skills that they learn as a participant in this Values Initiative.
• Become more creative, productive, and enthusiastic at work and in their own personal and professional development.
• Assume informal leadership roles by setting an example of positive team-building, mentoring, and inspiring others to higher standards.
• Help co-workers, friends, and family members deal with frustration and adversity in a more positive and constructive manner.
• Be a role model of positive leadership representing the organization in a positive light for the community at large.
• Foster the empowerment of others by exemplifying an attitude of self-empowerment themselves (see The Self Empowerment Pledge).
• For those who are also parents and/or teachers, to teach children the practical skills that are essential to succeed in today’s world.

Stage 5: Facilitator Training

This 2-day offsite training session is for graduates of the Spark Plug training session who wish to help others in the organization by teaching, facilitating, or otherwise participating in an ongoing program. This session can follow immediately after Spark Plug training, or be scheduled at a later date.

The session provides additional content that is helpful for sharing The Twelve Core Action Values (e.g. stories and activities), important facilitation skills, and also provides a forum to discuss options for further disseminating this values-based philosophy throughout the organization.

Participants all receive a Facilitator Manual. In addition, the organization receives master copies of all handouts and manuals, plus a set of twelve icebreaker videos by Joe Tye, one on each of The Twelve Core Action Values, as well as master copies of handouts and manuals and corporate discounts on other training resources.

This stage is an essential transition from The Twelve Core Action Values being an outsider’s “program” to being core philosophy for which your staff have a sense of personal ownership.

Many roads lead to success!

There is not one single “cookie cutter” approach for continuing the work of the Spark Plug group.

Griffin Hospital’s Dare to Care program features Spark Plug Facilitators teaching classes.

Grinnell Regional Medical Center’s Building a Better You course featured small group sessions facilitated by Spark Plug graduates.

West Central’s Spark Plug graduates write a weekly column on The Twelve Core Action Values for the employee newsletter, and have engaged in a variety of other activities, such as a community food drive.

Stage 6: Ongoing Activities

“I wanted you to know how thrilled I am with the ideas that our Spark Plug Facilitators came up with at their first meeting following our training session… It is truly rewarding to see our staff so enthused about The Twelve Core Action Values.  I have no doubt that the culture of Marengo Memorial Hospital, while inviting right now, will grow to be awesome!”
Genny Maroc, Chief Executive Officer
Marengo Memorial Hospital

Participating organizations receive a 20-year limited license to utilize The Twelve Core Action Values and all related content and resources for internal and external education and promotional activities. The goal is that sufficient momentum will be sustained so that The Twelve Core Action Values are broadly perceived as being inherent to the cultural fabric of the organization, and not a passing fad or “program of the month.”

While every organization is different, and has its own unique needs, goals, and priorities, here are examples of ongoing activities that can help you keep “The Spark” going, glowing, and growing:

• Build The Twelve Core Action Values into recruiting, orientation, and performance appraisal (one hospital incorporated them into job descriptions).
• Have Spark Plugs work with people in their departments to create posters for one of The Twelve Core Action Values every month (this has been a favorite activity in a number of organizations).
• Establish a Spark Plug Speakers Bureau to share The Twelve Core Action Values, and your experiences, with local schools, businesses, and medical staff organizations.
• Host learning programs on values-based life and leadership skills that are open to the community at large.

Comments from Griffin Hospital’s Spark Plugs

Being a Spark Plug has reminded me of what is important in my life and in
work. It's too easy to get lost in the survival madness; simply being exposed
to The Twelve Core Action Values and given tools to implement these values
can bring joy and peace to a busy life.

The Spark Plug program has given me a framework for managing my own life both personally and professionally. [These] values... are becoming an integral
part of my work life, because each Core Action Value is dependent on the others. My life has improved tenfold.

Being a Spark Plug is helping me find an inner peace with myself which in
turn is helping me be able to do my best at work helping others.

Becoming a Spark Plug has empowered me to be a more positive and supportive manager. Motivating staff is a difficult challenge but The Twelve Core Action Values has made this role easier.

By associating with Joe Tye and others who want to improve their work and
home situations, you can change through The Twelve Core Action Values by
practicing these values you will start to change yourself – and others around you.

I became motivated and changed my attitudes and some of my behaviors. This helps me make a difference in my life, my family, at work, and in my community.

The first Core Action Value, Authenticity, really made me take a close look at
myself. To see who I am, what I want out of life, but more importantly that
I am worth the effort to strive towards those dreams for myself and work to
make them a reality.

The opportunity to become a Spark Plug has enabled me to become a part of a group of dynamic coworkers that has a mission to capture all staff members in
a philosophy of action values to assist everyone in their personal and professional life. It enhances life in every way.

Being a Spark Plug will enlighten you as an individual and help you be a much more open and effective leader/caregiver.

Being a Spark Plug makes you aware of your true self and it motivates you to bring out the best in others. It gives you the courage to go against the odds
and feel good about it.

Being a Spark Plug has caused my to reflect on my life. I've made changes in
my personal life by ending a less than perfect relationship. My children and
I have thrived from it. At work, I stopped looking for and remarking on the
negatives and with less complaining, I’ve noticed a more positive attitude in
myself and my coworkers.