Why values must be expressed as behaviours
Have you ever worked in a company where the corporate values pinned on the wall didn’t match the day-to-day reality?
Business leaders know that this can happen despite the very best intentions. So what causes corporate values to slip? Why do leaders struggle to close the gap between what’s said and what’s done?
Often, it’s a failure to realise that values only truly have meaning when they are expressed as behaviours. In fact, at The House we believe that values ARE behaviours — nothing more, nothing less.
It’s an idea that stretches back at least as far as Aristotle. By thinking about values in terms of behaviours, leaders can build robust and resilient cultures in which values are lived day in, day out. Only by doing this can leaders ensure that corporate values are activating corporate purpose.
Mapping behaviours
Take a value like “transparency”. A company that says it values transparency but doesn’t behave transparently clearly has a problem — that’s obvious. But how many companies take the extra step of articulating what “transparent behaviour” actually looks like across their business?
Do this, and you will see that the answer will be different for each department, each process and at each stage of the customer journey. No matter how good the intention, a purely abstract value set won’t get into the DNA of the organisation and create positive change.
Think in terms of value-behaviours, and you can translate intention into attention. You can focus on each part of the business in turn and create a clear and shared set of expectations of how colleagues will treat each other and how they will treat customers.
This will allow you to activate your values and ensure that they are powerful tools for realising your purpose and driving performance.
This article originally appeared in the Autumn 2016 print issue of Purpose. For more on creative leadership, problem solving and purposeful business, please visit thehouse.co.uk or get in touch at hello@thehouse.co.uk.
