Making the Two Match

Developing clarity around the specific impact we want to have on everyone we’re serving through our core values will require focus. Building strong alliances with trusted sources we can count on to provide us with candid feedback on how we are (or aren’t) living up to those values takes time and incredibly intentional effort; having a bunch of folks check a box on a survey won’t cut it! Assuming we’re willing to do the hard work necessary for achieving each of these, we’ve got a shot at being able to answer Jeff Henderson’s third question: Do they match?

Previously as we looked about how living out our values can build a reputation that builds results, I referenced a conversation Cindy and I have with Carly Fiorina in late 2019 where she emphasized the importance of taking a “clear-eyed look at our existing state if we wanted to have any hope of achieving our desired future state.” We won’t be able to take that clear-eyed look with becoming completely locked in on the answers to each of those first questions; What do we want to be known for? and What are we known for? Making the comparison, or coming to terms with our current state, is where we’ll need to have guts!

While this won’t take courage of racing into a burning building of charging enemy troops, we will need to be brave enough to accept the differences we uncover. The perceptions shared with us may sting, and in some cases, there may be little we’re able to do (or choose to do) to change them. As much as we work to model what our values mean to us, there will be times where others have different expectations. 

Whether we need to close the gap between what we’re doing and what we hope to achieve or re-frame how manage the expectations a team member or client has around our values, aligning what we want our impact to look like and what that impact really looks like can be a steep hill to climb. But it will never happen without seeking and accepting input, then actively making some changes. Once we’ve identified the work we’ll need to do in closing any gaps, our job - as leaders - lies in being absolutely fanatical about instilling our values into every aspect of our organizational culture. Don’t sweat it, though, this fanaticism relies far more on consistency than intensity - so we’ll pick up there soon.