What people value at work and why that matters
There’s value you generate,
values you believe in,
and things that you value (stuff that’s important to you).
If you can’t distinguish between them, you’ve got a problem.
And it’s a common one.
Remaining committed to company values when you don’t feel valued yourself – because what you value isn’t respected – means generating value for the business is going to be tougher.
Company ‘core values’
People can be drawn to work for an organisation because of its promoted values.
And they stay because they feel, hear and see those values in action.
Or they leave when the promised values turn out to be just words on the website.
Company and team values are often ideals about behaviour, like ‘professionalism’, ‘integrity’, and ‘people before profit’.
Or slightly less abstract and subjective concepts like ‘innovation’, ‘collaboration and other ‘tions’.
Whatever values or types they may be, the key is for the values to have shared meaning: every employee understands exactly the same definition of the value’s concept as their boss and their colleagues.
When people on the same team have different ideas about what ‘success’ looks like, what ‘passion’ sounds like, and what ‘safety’ feels like, a problem’s already brewing.
What we actually value
Then there’s what matters to people, what they value and need to have respected to be able to give their best to a job, which often doesn’t show up in those lists of nouns about company values.
I created this list ⤵ from posters people make in my True Colors workshops. In one of the group activities I ask, ‘What do YOU value?’
💚Time
🧡Space
💛Clarity
💙Self-expression
💚Quietude
🧡Independence
💛Autonomy
💙 Friendship
Did you know these are just as important to your people as ‘teamwork’, ‘trust’, and ‘transparency’?
They’re what workers appreciate when provided because they enable people to then generate value for others.
So…
✔ Check that your team has a shared understanding of your common values.
✔ Check in with each person about what they value and if it’s being acknowledged.
Because when you know and understand what others value, you can do something about it.
If you sense or know a problem’s brewing in your team, maybe it’s a misunderstood values issue.
And, if you want to get to know what matters to your people sooner, tap the button below to book a complimentary and unconditional Tell Me More call.