Picture this...
Youโve defined an epic purpose and values, but a few months later you wonder why no one is living them.ย They are on your website, your recruitment materials, on the intranet- but then you hear:
๐ฌ โ๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฉ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ข ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ช๐ต.โ
๐ฌโ๐๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บโ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด.โ
๐ฌโ๐๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ต ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ.โ
๐'๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ย ๐
๐๐ก๐ฒ?
โถ ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐โ๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐๐๐ง ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ฌ-๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐.
๐๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ?ย
โก Action
โก Tangibility
โก Engagement
โก Role-modelling
๐๐จ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ฌ-๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐?ย
1๏ธโฃ ๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐: Seek to shift the perspective with the questions you ask.ย
2๏ธโฃ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐:ย Work together & co-create with your employees to uncover and develop values. This builds ownership and authenticity. Be wary of completely outsourcing this externally, it can be helpful to have someone external facilitate the workshops/process/support with the copywriting- but I believe the team should always be providing input and at the core of the design process.ย
3๏ธโฃ ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ:ย Translate abstract values into concrete actions and behaviors. This helps everyone understand how to live these principles daily.
Aside from obvious communication points, shape your people experience around your values and purpose i.e. how do your values play out for example in recognition, recruitment etc.ย
4๏ธโฃ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐:ย Ensure leaders not only endorse but role model the companyโs values. Help them create their own narratives around your purpose and values. Their behaviour sets a precedent for what is expected throughout the organisation.
What other tips have you seen that worked?
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