Do Your Operational Values Truly Reflect What Your Organization Stands For?
You probably have your written corporate values posted on your website, your Intranet, and somewhere on the walls of your workplace.
But what about your operational values: that is, how people truly operate within your organization?
Do your two sets of values align?
To figure it out, here is a fun and compelling way that you, a business leader, can determine whether your stated values are also your operational values—in other words, whether your organization truly reflects those words on the wall.
- Consult colleagues and team members one-on-one. Ask them to tell you about one of the finest moments they can remember within the history of the organization—for example, when they or another person or team did something extraordinarily well. For example, someone may tell you about a time they were behind on a project and a colleague stepped in to go the extra mile to ensure an important client’s need was met—demonstrating incredible customer service to deliver on a promise.
- Collect 10 of these stories. No less than 10. The more, the better.
- Review and analyze. Ask yourself, “What do these 10 stories tell me about the DNA of the company? What are the key themes that emerge from these stories?” Those key themes are your operational values.
- Compare. Once you’ve determined your operational values, compare them against the written values and see if there is alignment. For example, at Juice, one of our values is to “create simplicity and ease”—when we deliver our training materials to participants, we want to make sure the process and our material is easy to grasp and apply. So we are constantly looking for feedback and stories from our customers that reflect that value; if we did not, it would be clear that the way we operate is not the way we present ourselves on paper.
- Take next steps. Now is the time to make a decision: do you want to close the gap between both sets of values by encouraging a change in organizational behavior? Or do you want to change your stated values so they reflect the true nature and values of your organization?