On my way to work with a senior leadership team in London. The mission: help them clarify and embrace their values as a team and organisation.
Values aren’t a nice to have. Apart from being a requirement for any organisation with clear purpose and identity, values also have a practical neurological function.
From a neuroscience point of view, values are an accelerator for intentional decision making. They are heuristics that help our brains simplify thought processes, avoid cognitive overload, and enable consistent action.
Strong values can enable clear choices even when faced with conflicting data or incomplete information. Without values we would more easily be led astray by analysis paralysis or reactive decision making.
However, there is no point in agreeing a beautiful list of values just to decorate meeting rooms and mission statements. For values to have any impact they need to be lived day by day. As we all know, culture eats strategy for breakfast. True values arise from the actual working culture – not an HR policy document.
So with this team I’ll spend the day exploring not just what their values are but more importantly, how these values are currently being lived or neglected in the team and wider organisation – and how they can be harnessed with greater impact.
And of course I’ll deliver this workshop with my own values of keeping things simple and engaging, enabling mutual learning with a client-centred approach that brings out the best in people.
What are your values?
True Horizon Coaching 