Who Really Cares About Your Values? Your Team Does!

Let’s assume your organization has done a solid job of listing what your values mean and you’ve worked to remove all possible ambiguity by connecting those values to the daily activities of each team member, then what? As leaders, the ball most definitely remains in our court.

An Inc.com article called “9 Ways to Reinforce and Live Your Company’s Core Values Everyday” had this at the top of the list:

Live and lead by example. Leaders are always being watched. Setting core values, and then failing to abide by them, is worse than not establishing core values at all. A solid core values system is especially important in difficult times. It's rather easy to adhere to established desired behaviors when things are going well. When a company hits a bump in the road however, is when it's most important to stand by what you believe at your core.

Regardless of where you’re at in your organization, you’ve accepted some level of leadership responsibility; I can’t imagine you'd be on this journey with me otherwise. But before I challenge you to take a hard look at the example you’re providing anyone you’ve earned influence with, I want you to consider who really cares about your values… Spoiler alert: your team does! That said, the folks looking to you for leadership are no different than you and me.

Throughout What’s KILLING Your Profitability? (It ALL Boils Down to Leadership!), and a few times in Leading With A Clear Purpose, I shared this from a Harvard Business Review article called “Things They Do for Love”:

“Company leaders won’t be surprised that employee engagement—the extent to which workers commit to something or someone in their organizations—influences performance and retention. But they may be surprised by how much engagement matters. Increased commitment can lead to a 57% improvement in discretionary effort—that is, employees’ willingness to exceed duty’s call. That greater effort produces, on average, a 20% individual performance improvement and an 87% reduction in the desire to pull up stakes.”

Having shared these statistics with groups across the United States for close to two years now, I’ve seen more than a few wrinkled foreheads and scowls as folks wrap their heads around the idea of 57% additional discretionary effort and the 20% uptick in individual productivity. I counter those looks of disbelief with the same question I need you to answer right now, who have you worked the hardest for or been the most committed to over the course of your career? The supervisor who ruled with an iron fist or the one you knew had your best interests at heart in every way?

Since I know your answer, let’s think about how the behaviors of the one who earned our increased discretionary effort lined up with the core values of the organization we were a part of as well as our personal values. For me, it comes back to this simple statement in an article from Lesley University called “The Power of Company Core Values” referencing the importance of leading by example: “Seeing leaders adhere to the same principles they enforce is crucial for building trust and cohesion.”

During an orientation session I was leading more than a decade ago, my boss at the time was talking with a new team member we had just hired. This gentleman was coming into the company with an exceptional set of skills but he was new to the area so we knew it would take some time for the team to really welcome him. My boss told him, “You’ll build a thousand bridges before you’re ever known as a bridge builder. But if you (expletive) just one donkey, you’ll be forever known as a donkey (expletive-er).” Having recently left a very formal corporate environment, that statement nearly knocked me out of my chair - but it couldn’t have been more accurate. Trust is indeed earned over time and can be lost in an instant. That trust is the foundation for earning influence and engagement, which leads to increases in discretionary effort and individual productivity.

Since that’s something so critical for me and you, isn’t it fair to think our teams are looking for the same from us? With that being the case, we’ll look at how we walk our talk next time…