MBA Capstone Mini-Series 2 of 8: 3 Strategies for Activating your Company Values
This week's focus in the Capstone MBA course, Strategic Business Growth, was on organizational culture and values, particularly on hiring with those values in mind. My biggest aha moment wasn't something entirely new, but rather a reflection on the persistent challenge organizations face in making their values more than just corporate boilerplate on a website. We discussed three strategies to elevate your values from mere “Text on a Website” to “Descriptions of your Culture.”
Strategy One: See Your Leaders Using Them in Action
When employee engagement surveys ask "Do senior leaders live out the company's values?", most employees try to recall a single moment in time where they observed a decision or reaction to an event where the senior leader acted according to the values. It is not as often a reflection of the entire C-Suite's body of work. As Tom Peters is famous for saying, "Excellence is the next five minutes." By focusing on the next five minutes, or the decision and moment directly in front of you. You can be the example for employees at all times, when ask "Do our senior leaders live out the company values?"
Strategy Two: Let Water Flow Downhill
Create environments where it’s easiest to act in alignment with your values. Choose situations where living your values is the path of least resistance. Make it the "downhill" option.
For instance, one of BecomeMore’s values is “It’s About Them,” meaning that what truly matters is not our knowledge but our ability to focus on where the organization we are assisting currently stands and what we can do to help them take the next step. I work with organizations at varying levels of Continuous Improvement maturity—some with advanced CI departments and methodologies, others just starting out. By concentrating on each organization’s specific needs and truly focusing on them, they achieve more in the long run. Teaching advanced calculus to a 5th grader won’t help if they’re just learning fractions.
Strategy Three: You Get What You Pay For
Reward behaviors that align with your values. Simply listing values without showing appreciation, gratitude, or recognition for those who embody them will not inspire further adherence. Conversely, if you reward actions that reflect the desired outcomes, your values will transform from words on a page to integral parts of your organizational culture.
What other strategies have you seen as effective at making your values more than words on a page? Share your experiences and insights, and let's continue this conversation on building authentic organizational cultures.