9 August 2009, by Tracey Swanepoel
I'm talking about corporate values - the ultimate accessory to the corporate strategy. That's not cynicism, rather it's dismay: that "values" with all their potential to be the driving force of businesses, so often appear to be nothing more than window dressing.
Post Enron and the global financial meltdown there's a lot of talk about what went wrong. One argument singles out the lack of values which should have been there, driving decisions and actions. Indeed, the concepts of the "values driven organisation" or "values centered leadership" are much touted as the way forward - the hope of the future. To make these more than just nice sounding ideas, I do believe that we need to think about, and perhaps even radically rethink, how we deal with values in organisations.
Firstly, we need to stop the endless wordsmithing sessions. It might sound harsh to say these are a waste of time, but all we get out of them is a "word salad" which gets us no closer to making values a reality. Words are NOT the key to values. Actions are. A hypothetical example makes this point: what if an alien from outer space dropped in and spent a morning in your company/division/ team? Would he/she/it be able to leave with a clear understanding of your values, gathered from observed actions; how people relate; treat each other; make decisions; prioritise choices?
Firstly, we need to stop the endless wordsmithing sessions. It might sound harsh to say these are a waste of time, but all we get out of them is a "word salad" which gets us no closer to making values a reality. Words are NOT the key to values. Actions are. A hypothetical example makes this point: what if an alien from outer space dropped in and spent a morning in your company/division/ team? Would he/she/it be able to leave with a clear understanding of your values, gathered from observed actions; how people relate; treat each other; make decisions; prioritise choices?
Firstly, we need to stop the endless wordsmithing sessions. It might sound harsh to say these are a waste of time, but all we get out of them is a "word salad" which gets us no closer to making values a reality. Words are NOT the key to values. Actions are. A hypothetical example makes this point: what if an alien from outer space dropped in and spent a morning in your company/division/ team? Would he/she/it be able to leave with a clear understanding of your values, gathered from observed actions; how people relate; treat each other; make decisions; prioritise choices?
Next we need to define the "behavioral code" that goes with each value. For example, if "honesty" is a value, what are the behaviours that will show it "in action?" Values are abstract and conceptual, and thus open to broad interpretation. It gets tricky because behavioral codes may differ and may need to differ at different levels of the company. An executive code of "honesty," while identical in principal, may be vastly different in specific actions to that of a front line supervisor or a shop floor worker. This is the complexity and ambiguity we need to get our heads around (as opposed to refining the word salad). It's part of getting real.
Leadership in their capacity for role modeling is the most powerful force for change. We may be loathe to admit it, but in the hierarchical structure that pervades many companies we still do what the boss DOES (not necessarily what he/she SAYS). This means that leaders at all levels of the company have to play an active role in values alignment. Not by talking about values. By demonstrating them. Leaders need to identify and commit to actions that demonstrate each respective value on a personal level, within their business unit /function, and within the broader organization. This is not rocket science! Aligning people to values is about the discipline and consistency of daily actions which set the tone, and the culture over the longer term.
Perhaps well intentioned, overenthusiastic mass communication deserves part of the blame for the values "credibility" problem. We are so keen to communicate the values, to get them "out there", that we draw the attention to the words (again!) rather than the actions. What if we reversed the process? What if we waited and then communicated about "seeing the values in action" as opposed to communicating about empty words? Because of the central role played by the leadership upfront (who would have been role modeling or "doing" the values), the values and the subsequent communication surrounding them would have immediate and sustainable credibility.
We shouldn't take the easy way out when it comes to values. If we believe that they are critical components of how we run our companies (and I certainly do), let's take them seriously enough to integrate them into our companies' engine rooms. If not, the least we can do is stop pretending and face the reality that we may be better off not bothering with them at all!
Read published article on MoneyWeb site