Harriet Robles asked:
> what are the other 12 or so things you include when you lay out your personal
> values?
The "personal values statement" I hand out have been through several
versions. This is the last one from the file, and is divided into several
groups.
I believe....
That people who never fail are not stretching themselves enough
That what goes around comes around.
In treating each person with dignity and respect.
That a person's word is her honor.
People want to succeed but often need help
In checking our egos at the door
If the customer isn't happy, ain't nobody gonna be happy
I expect we will
Not make the same mistakes twice
Teach others what we learn from exploration, innovation, and
development.
Thank our customers for their patronage.
Learn from each other daily.
Treat each other as we would like to be treated.
Be honest and caring with constructive feedback to our peers,
subordinates, and managers.
Mentor those who are new to the company.
Work each day to make some aspect of our business better.
Dedicate 2 hours each week to continuous professional development.
Think strategically.
Focus on doing the most important things first.
I value and celebrate.
Honesty
Friendships
Creativity
Hard work
Sense of humor
Playfulness
Productivity
Accomplishments
Success
Diversity of thoughts and ideas
Teamwork
Consensus
Learning, growing, and changing
As I say, I use this as a sample when training managers. There is a
laundry list I also give out of many values they might want to roll around
in their heads before crafting their own set of values and expectations.
It seems to be a significant liberator to managers that there is a way
they can capture the essence of who they are, describe this to another,
and use it as a guiding document when interacting with subordinates.
I caution them to be honest. If they REALLY value employee loyalty above
all other things, then they should say so. If following orders is more
important than thinking for oneself, then say so. The document needs to
reflect the REAL values, beliefs, and expectations of that manager.
Otherwise, the whole exercise will backfire.
The value I get out of doing this is that it sets expectations and also
keeps me honest when I tend to slip back into a panic mode and don't think
about these issues. I love it when a team member will say to me, "whoa!
I thought....." It keeps me humble.
regards,
Vana Prewitt
Praxis Learning Systems
www.PraxisLearning.com
--Vana Prewitt <vana@PraxisLearning.org>
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