Living Values. Living Destiny.
Personal Development
November 15, 2012
Erin Schreyer
Topics
Leadership, Values, values alignmentI’m so glad the election and all the campaigning are over. Aren’t you?
I thought it was especially brutal this year. So much negative advertising. So much vitriol.
One of the very few things I appreciated about the campaign was that each of candidates talked about their values. During other times of the year, people may not be as open about what they deem important.
Does your organization regularly talk about their core values, the values that drive leadership and employee behaviors? Or are they framed in your lobby in an ancient wooden frame, layered with an inch of dust?
Could you recite the values off the top of your head? So how do you know if your actions support them?
Values should drive actions. There should be consistency, conformity, congruency. Company standards are born of them. Policies should be rooted in them. Every employees’ actions should reflect them.
Do they?
Take a moment today to read your corporate values statement. (I hope you can easily find them!) Ask yourself if your organization is living them. Ask yourself if you, yourself, are upholding them.
Think about your own values for a few moments too. Are they in alignment? Are there any deeply held values that you would need to sacrifice in order to follow the corporate values? Will you be able to live with that…or yourself?
Consider this great quote from Mahatma Gandhi.
“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”
What’s in your destiny?
Erin, It is funny. I was asked this just yesterday, by a group of employees. I shared… and the good news is that they nodded 😉 We teach our values mostly by our actions, it is interesting to be asked to articulate them.
Hi, Karen.
Thanks for your comment. You’re right. Our actions do speak louder, but it’s always interesting to “test” ourselves to be sure we’re congruent. So glad to hear you’re having those conversations. I don’t think this is a topic that can be over-communicated. Keep it up!!
Erin,
You are so right and this is so important. I am proud to say that my community’s mission, core values, and honor code are posted prominently up front of every room. Every time we are faced with a difficult choice, we can ask ourselves, is this action in keeping with our core values? It makes everything so much easier.
I think people should be clear on their core values as well. If anyone is interested in exploring their own values, there is a great free tool here that I use with my students. http://www.franklincovey.com/msb/
Thank you for this important piece.
Deb
Thanks for the comment and great resource, Deb!!! I love that you’re leading the way at work (no surprise!)
You also made me recall a great Roy Disney quote, “It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are .”
So true, huh?!
Thanks for taking the time to encourage us all!
Am happy that,i am live to know importance of life throug this house.