What Do YOU Really Value?
Apr 12, 2022
SInce we’ve established the importance of organizational culture and we’ve developed a foundation for what that culture needs to be built on, it’s time we get serious about defining the specific values we stand for - the ones we want to be known for upholding, personally and professionally!
The first time Cindy and I spoke with Jeff Henderson, he challenged us to answer these three questions:
- What do you want to be known for?
- What are you known for?
- Do those answers match?
When we get right down to it, answering that third question with an honest yes requires us to be very intentional about choosing the right values as the foundation for our organizational culture! And that’s where the work BEGINS… But any work we do to enhance what we’re known for will have limited results unless we’ve taken the necessary steps to nail down what we really value (what we want to be known for)!
In my opinion, there are some values that should be held by every individual AND organization. That said, the reasons any one person or company gives for maintaining a value can be incredibly different. We’ll look at what we need to consider for WHY we’ve chosen our values soon. For now though, let’s just make sure we know WHAT those things are we value most!
For me as an individual, the values that mean the most to me are honesty, work ethic, and exceeding expectations. As a very Task-Focused person who tends to push for measurable results in everything I do, each of those ties directly to very specific behaviors. That said, my goal is always based on serving others in the process. Whether it’s with friends and family or someone who’s a part of our team, honesty has to be in place to have an effective relationship that lasts long term. I’ve never felt like I had all that much talent for doing any one thing but a strong work ethic has been a big part of any success I’ve been able to achieve. Organizations with average products and services often outperform competitors with superior offerings by simply outworking them! Exceeding expectations, for me, is a matter of under-promising and over-delivering! That’s not a matter of selling ourselves short, it’s just making sure there’s more do than talk…
Coming to terms with the things we really value the most is a strong starting point, but it’s even more important to know exactly WHY we hold those values near and dear so we can keep that top of mind - for ourselves and our teams! So we’ll work through that next time!
