Reading INSEAD research I loved how the article presented the importance of “wrestling with your values”. I think this is critical as it means you keep your values current and real and know how they are playing out every day in the way you behave with each other. The wrestling allows leaders and then their team members to clearly determine how values link to the culture and the behaviours being used to operationalise the vision of the business.
Working with a clients’ Executive Team recently I sat inspired as they wrestled with their values – as most companies will notice there is a certain element of conflict in their values and unless you explore how this works then the reality of your values is being ignored. This Executive Team explored getting to market first with being stronger together – which meant more internal collaboration before getting to market, possibly?
Most companies will have some values that relate to their clients or customers and the service/product they provide while other values relate to how people in a team and in the business interact with each other to produce a collaborative outcome. There will be times where the internal and the external are in conflict and who do you prioritise and what does this mean for those on the receiving end of the resultant behaviour? This is what you consider when you wrestle.
So when was the last time you had a good wrestle with your values and truly explored how they ARE, CAN BE and SHOULD BE translated into behaviours for the leaders and for their team members? Join the discussion on our LinkedIn group here
