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    You are here Home » culture

    Three Keys to Values-Aligned Experiences

    Last updated on Sep 26, 2019 by Dan McCarthy · This post may contain affiliate links

    Guest post from S. Chris
    Edmonds
    :
    Being around values
    mis-aligned people lowers trust, discretionary energy, and performance. Our
    research suggests three key steps you can take to ensure values-aligned
    experiences:
    1)   
    Be
    clear on your own values. Define the behaviors you will demonstrate when you
    are living your values, and take time regularly to reflect on how you’re doing
    with modeling those valued behaviors.
    2)   
    Observe
    the decisions and behaviors of others. It is not your responsibility to change
    their values, but it is up to you to insulate yourself from those whose values
    are inconsistent with your own.
    3)   
    Actively
    cherish and celebrate the people around you who DO share your values.
    I’ve been very lucky
    throughout my career to be attracted to jobs and opportunities where I’ve
    worked with people who share my values and life principles. There have been
    times when I’ve engaged in project work with players who were clearly not
    values-aligned with me . . . and much learning resulted!
    I have bragged about
    one of my best bosses, Jerry Nutter  (a
    long time executive with YMCAs in California) in previous posts. Jerry taught
    me to observe others’ behavior as “that will give you insights into their values”
    and to surround myself with values-aligned people. “Life is too short,” Nutter
    explained, “to do otherwise.”
    Day-to-Day Decisions
    and Behavior Reveal a Person’s Values
    You likely have seen
    these behaviors in the workplace during your career:
    ●    
    Engaging
    in gossip
    ●    
    Withholding
    information from peers to make oneself look better/smarter/more productive
    ●    
    Teasing
    and/or making fun (sometimes in the name of “teambuilding”)
    ●    
    Complaining
    about someone’s behavior to a peer, team lead, or boss without going directly
    to that person to address the concern
    These and dozens of
    other similar behaviors happen in organizations every day. If your organization
    has not intentionally defined their desired culture and values base, norms
    often evolve that tolerate (and even support) behaviors like these.
    Decisions reveal
    values in the workplace, as well. If you’ve had a boss belittle a team member
    (in front of them or behind their back), take credit for work others have done,
    or promised to do “X” yet moments later did the exact opposite, you are seeing
    the values they embrace.
    The Hole In One
    I experienced an
    epiphany about values misalignment years ago on the golf course. A work
    colleague and I enjoyed golf and began playing together at a local course on
    Saturdays. This colleague (let’s call him Bill) had a reputation in the company
    for making fast decisions that served him and his team well . . . even if it
    meant stepping on toes. I’d seen Bill publicly belittle others more than once,
    so had that gnawing feeling in my gut about this gentleman’s values. Because of
    that, I was always on guard around Bill, even outside the workplace.
    We approached the par
    3 17th hole and Bill set up his tee shot. He pushed the ball into the greenside
    creek. He cursed up a storm while placing another ball on the tee. He swung and
    hit a very nice shot towards the pin. It took one bounce and dove into the cup!
    I said, “Nice par!”
    Bill’s first ball in the water cost him a penalty stroke, so he was hitting his
    third stroke on the tee. Bill looked at me angrily and said, “I’m taking that
    as a hole in one!” I was not surprised at Bill’s self-serving stroke tallying .
    . . but realized at that moment that I was at fault by spending time on the
    golf course with someone whose values were very different than mine. I fixed
    that immediately – I preferred playing golf with strangers than with Bill.
    The bottom line: Do
    the right thing for your sanity, productivity, and spirit.
    S. Chris Edmonds is
    a sought-after speaker, author, and executive consultant. After a 15-year
    career leading successful teams, Chris founded his consulting company, The Purposeful Culture Group, in
    1990. Chris has also served as a senior consultant with The Ken Blanchard
    Companies since 1995. He is the author or co-author of seven books, including
    Amazon best sellers The
    Culture Engine
     and Leading at a Higher Level with Ken Blanchard. Learn
    from his blog posts, podcasts, assessments, research, and videos at http://drivingresultsthroughculture.com.
    Get free resources plus weekly updates from Chris by subscribing here. 

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