Developing Team Values

Developing team values is important because the shape of any organization is determined by the values held and acted upon by the leadership team. It is through the observation of their leaders in action that people get their greatest cues as to what behaviors are critical to the organization's success ... not those ubiquitous (and a waste of space) cards and brochures that organization's seem to rely upon.

If they see you fudging your expenses, or rewarding a buyer with a huge bonus for improving the bottom line by taking unfair advantage of a supplier or allowing people who do not live the espoused values get away with poor behavior then they will get the message loud and clear what is acceptable and required around here to get ahead.

Developing Team Values is important because the values that you live and breathe shape your organizational culture.

The only difference between the performance of any two organizations is their culture. You can place two businesses side by side with exactly the same equipment and opportunities and one will always outperform the other and that is simply because of its culture.

In the last several years we have witnessed organization after organization come crumbling down due to the lack of application of good ethics and values: Enron, Arthur Andersen, Worldcomm, Martha Stewart

Values are universal. We all know what makes for a good life - be it personal or organizational. So, when developing team values don't be surprised to find that each team comes up with similar values.

The Steps To Take When Developing Team Values

1. Imagine you are starting your business up again. Brainstorm all the behaviours, qualities, characteristics, feelings you would want your new team members to have. (Your group will probably come up with a list of 50+ words)

   Here are a few examples: Leadership, Teamwork, Technical Competency, Ability to Learn, Initiative, Integrity, Open Communication

2. Your group should then pare this list down to the core 6-8 values that the business will use to guide its decision-making. (Hint, don't just go for the ones that have the most votes, after consideration sometimes a value that someone has put up, but others didn't think of at the time, maybe just perfect for your team)
3. Then for each value each team members should answer these three questions:

• Describe what ... (insert the value) ... means to you
• Describe the behaviours you believe will illustrate this behaviour
• The results that will follow by people having/using this Value

Click here to review an example of this activity using the value of Willing and Able To Learn

It is important that ALL team members have the opportunity to participate in the final step of this exercise. Otherwise you won't get buy in. When team members are given the time to discuss and ponder the meaning of the value and how it will be applied in their day to day they will be passionate and committed to ensuring the value is adhered to. And as we discussed earlier it is your culture that will drive performance.

A Mistake To Avoid When Developing Team Values

When developing team values, please do not make the mistake of putting profit as a value - it is not a value it is a goal! Every business must make money (even non-profits) to survive - just like you and I need oxygen to survive. But oxygen and profits are not the reason for existence. As Jim Collins discussed in his ground-breaking book Good to Great the most successful companies did not focus primarily on profits - they stood for something bigger - yet because of this they were highly profitable.

Use Values to Create Guiding Principles

Once you have completed developing your team values you then use them to create your guiding principles. Click here to leave developing team values and find tips to create guiding principles

Of course, an individual's values should be closely aligned to the organization's values. People who spend time developing their personal mission in life are generally more energized and happier, simply because they are very clear about the type of organization they wish to align themselves with - they simply won't work with you if they don't feel your values are a close match to theirs.