What is my True Self? — My Reflections on Andela’s EPIC Values
Personal values are the general expression of what is most important to an individual. They are so important not only because they are a reflection of our needs, desires, and what we care about most in life, but can be seen as decision-making guidelines that help us connect to our true selves.
Values serve as reminders of what is important to us in situations where one is pressured to conform to another standard. Values differ from virtue. Values are aspirations, goals whereas virtue is what we really are. We strive to live our values but our virtues are those values we manage to live by consistently. Andela’s EPIC values — excellence, passion, integrity, and collaboration are among the many virtues I aspire to live by.
Excellence — Excellence is not perfection. Excellence means achieving the highest possible standard. It is demanding more of myself than others do. This means I have to be the best I can be by continuous learning. And what makes this really possible is having a growth mindset. I also understand that if I want to excel at the big things, I have to excel at the little things. I will not compromise quality simply for the reason of getting it quickly done.
Passion — A burning desire to achieve one’s goals makes all the difference between what we make possible. The picture of the larger goal helps me work harder despite failure. It helps me seek inspiration from my colleagues and view any setback as temporary.
Integrity — Integrity is a very important value as it is the foundation on which coworkers build relationships, trust, and effective interpersonal relationships. Trust and Honesty, Sincerity are central to integrity. As an individual, I will like my colleague or manager to trust me even though he is not watching or is currently unaware of my performance. One way I can achieve that is by building a reputation of being honorable, trustworthy and dependable.
Collaboration — The benefits of collaboration is seen in everyday life. For instance, popular sayings such:
“many hands make the load light”, “if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together”
emphasises basically that the WE is stronger than the I. We can achieve great things as a team of committed individuals than a single individual. To harness the power of collaboration, communication among members of a team is vital. The willingness to give and accept feedback, explore problems together. And when challenges arise due to a difference in personality, such is resolved through open and meaningful communication.
These four values and many others add up to provide me direction and purpose in life and the satisfaction that what I am doing with my life is very important. I personally see myself as someone who aspires to live by these values daily, motivate and inspire others to live by these values, thereby creating or rebranding a generation of individuals with values that make a difference in their lives.
