Values In Action

Last week I had the pleasure of working for a company that lived and breathed their values like no other group I have ever worked with.

From the very first day of training, every single person was seated in the room and ready to start by 9am. Over 14 years of conducting training, this is a rare occurrence! So I thanked them for being on time and the CEO advised me that one of their values is based on integrity or honouring their word. One of the ways this plays out in their company is that everyone turns up on time to meetings.

I spent three days with them teaching the skills of storytelling and running story harvesting sessions. Every day and every break people where on time …honouring their word.

Company Values

It made me reflect on the many companies that have ‘integrity’ as a value but do not live by it day-to-day. From something as simple as turning up to meetings on time to major decisions such as what we have seen with the Australian Cricket captain, Steve Smith and the blatant cheating with ball tampering.

Ironically, one of Cricket Australia’s values is ‘integrity’. They explain this value with, ‘We are proactive in protecting cricket from threats’. This is a classic example of espoused values rather than values in action.

Living Values

Living values is more easily said than done. Taking the time to think over our principles helps to drive our daily decisions both big and small. You will not always get it right …but how did Steve Smith get it so wrong?