… Accountable … Collaborative … Innovative … Respectful … Inclusive … Honest … Trusted….Committed … Caring … Considerate … Creative … Professional….
Underpinning any transformational change programme will be the organisation’s values and purpose which can be powerful catalysts for employee engagement and buy-in to that change. When our values are well defined, relatable and believable, they can be the guiding light that keeps everyone on track and in a strong position to truly live the changes and face the future together with enthusiasm and drive. They can be the galvanising force that builds momentum and achieves organisational goals where people feel empowered to be an integral part of the process, because they see a clear way forward.
Increased engagement
People who know, understand and incorporate company values everyday are significantly more engaged and aligned to the organisation, and empowered to achieve its goals and objectives. When we talk with team members in organisations about their values, overwhelmingly they seem to agree that they are a good description of how the organisation should be perceived both internally and externally yet are unclear how to relate them to everyday working practice.
Powerful how-to skills
Our experience shows that when we empower people with the right how-to skills clearly aligned to the values, they will explicitly know what is expected of them and be able to confidently know that these specific tools and resources help them to excel against the company values and behaviours.
What it takes to live the values
The first step is to ensure high awareness of your values across every level of the organisation. Our research generally shows that people are aware that the company has values, some can name them, however few are truly able to say how they can demonstrate them daily. To make the values a powerful contributor to organisational success means that ultimately everyone in the organisation must be clear on both exactly what the values are and how specifically they can demonstrate them.
By giving people a set of how-to skills that align to the values and help them to clearly express them in their behaviours every day can accelerate the impact of having the values in the first place.
1. An optimal mindset
In our experience it takes two things to live company values, and the first is an optimal mindset which can be seen as a foundation stone as it is at the heart of everything we think, feel, say and do and impacts every aspect of our lives.
Having a positive, optimal mindset that’s solution-focused will underpin any professional, forward thinking set of values. It equips us to step up and take ownership and responsibility for our role and be optimistic so that we can buy into the future of the business with a positive attitude, confident in the team’s ability to work together with strength and resilience, even in the face of adversity or change. It’s a framework that can shape our response to every situation that comes our way and drives our interaction and relationships with others. It helps us to really listen, show respect and accept feedback as a valuable learning opportunity, and gives us a firm belief that our contribution really does make a difference.
Helping people to develop and maintain this optimal mindset builds a firm foundation to underpin any successfully functioning organisation, and can be a clear reflection of its purpose, vision and mission.
2. Positive communication and effective collaboration
Once we have mastered the different elements of an optimal mindset, it’s vital to have the clear how-to skills to hand so that we can demonstrate it to others through every aspect of our communication. Positive, clear and engaging communication skills that build two-way trust are powerful and an essential foundation to achieve effective collaboration and build strong and meaningful relationships. Whatever the thrust of the conversation, it’s important to use positive, influential language in line with our optimal mindset, always ensuring that the first thing we say is constructive, empathetic, positive and solution focused as this demonstrates inclusion and respect and builds trust. Whatever the situation, there are tools and techniques that make it easy for us to fully consider every option and keep us moving forward in a professional and positive manner.
In our experience the ability to communicate positively with solution-orientation, focusing on what is possible rather than what is not, will fast track people’s ability to demonstrate the organisation’s values.
At the heart of every organisation’s values lies the ability to collaborate. Collaborate with colleagues and with external parties. Collaboration is central to building trust, demonstrating commitment, being accountable and working together positively with others. In our experience these attributes are always found in organisational values. Collaboration is when a tightly knit workforce comes together at the top of their game – showing active involvement, questioning and challenging skills and being supportive of one another. Being open and honest gives everyone the opportunity to be engaging, co-creative and inclusive so that working relationships can flourish on a foundation of mutual respect and a sense of belonging.
When the right steps are taken to ensure your people understand the company vision and values and are equipped with the right how-to skills, it becomes second nature to live them every day and create a strong company culture that achieves its purpose, so that you can expect to attract and keep amazing people who are engaged and motivated and enjoy what they do.
Helping people to truly align themselves with your values across every aspect of their working lives requires a robust and engaging training process that results in an overarching skillset of how-to tools that will empower them. MGI’s Mindset, Language & Actions Toolkit will equip your people with everything they need to understand and maximise upon the crucial link between mindset and values – empowering them to promote and demonstrate these values in everything they think, feel, say and do so that they can excel in their roles.
To find out how our engaging and enjoyable Learning Journeys can be tailored to provide your people with a clear pathway to the guiding principles of your company’s values and purpose, please get in touch or book a consultation.
