Which Values are Essential to You?
by Robert Hackman
By Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
To be strong
Through values and self-esteem
From the song ‘Praxis’
By As Dramatic Homage
What two values make all your other values possible? What a potent question. The inquiry posed by Brené Brown provided the clarity I mistakenly believed inaccessible. Before her provocative question, I felt sure you could have offered me nirvana in exchange for the answer, and I could not have summoned them.
Narrowing my primary values down to five felt daunting enough, let alone two, despite a significant focus on values in my self-work and working with clients over many years.
In what ways does identifying your top two values help you? How does leaving them undetermined hurt you?
Taking it further…how do essential values leverage the performance of teams and organizations?
Why Values Matter
Because you cannot betray a value you believe to be essential without weakening yourself, your team, or your organization. Conversely, you cannot uphold a value without increasing confidence, grit, and resilience in yourself and others. Values are the surprisingly powerful difference between operating in alignment instead of cross purposes.
My Experience
I laugh at myself for yet another of my many blind spots. When compelled to identify the two values I could not do without, I quickly determined them all due to Brené’s well-crafted query. Such is the impact of powerful questions.
They make you stop, dig in, and focus your attention in new and profound ways.
At a subconscious level, I knew the two that were most significant to me. My two foundational values are Courage and Curiosity. The 4C Consulting’s name stands for Courageously Curious Consulting and Coaching. These two values make 4C’s other core values of compassion, candor, and humor possible.
Courage and curiosity are values to which I aspire and for which I advocate for in my clients. They continually show up in my coaching, consulting, and facilitation processes. I emphasize them more. Comprehending their significance to me has made all the difference. I believe your highest principles can, too.
What Does Naming and Claiming Your Top Two Values Do for You?
Honing in on your top values simplifies everything. When you define them, you remember to integrate them. You use them as guideposts to evaluate decisions and make choices consistently.
Simplifying principles does not necessarily make them easy to apply.
Having values has little consequence, yet practicing values generates a significant impact. Values represent part of your inner guidance system, keeping you on track and in integrity.
Values are verbs, not nouns. You do not have them; you live them. Aligned words and actions exemplify what you believe to be crucial. Your decision-making and behavior embed your values into who you are and how you interact.
They are most potent when practiced under pressure in challenging situations.
Applying TWO foundational values reliably over time increases self-acceptance and bolsters self-confidence. It provides you with your true north throughout your days.
Consistent behavior engenders self-trust and trust from others. As Stephen R. Covey asserts, in the Speed of Trust, the first job of a leader is to inspire trust. Values form the foundation of trust. Few things are worth more.
What Are the Consequences of Leaving Your Primary Values Undetermined?
Failing to establish your top two values causes you to spend needless energy redetermining the criteria you require to evaluate and successfully respond to any given situation. Doing so leaves you less confident and more tired, over and over again.
Your decision-making will be less consistent, inducing distrust in yourself and others and undermining self-confidence. Consequently, you lose the power of compounding, of having decisions and actions build on one another over time.
How Do Top Values Increase Team and Organizational Performance?
Common values galvanize groups of people together through a shared culture and establish how they work with one another. They define shared principles for decision-making and conduct.
My favorite example comes from Nordstrom, which exemplified its two primary organizational values in a simple, catchy statement. ‘Don’t chew gum, and don’t steal from us.’
Eight words conveyed that Nordstrom associates always treat its customers with the utmost professionalism, focusing on them and their needs while exercising extreme care for the company. The values of professionalism and caring represent its pathway to success.
When everyone is clear about what matters most, they know what to expect and how to respond.
When essential values remain outside our awareness, we leave what is most vital to chance.
Leaving indispensable values dispensable makes you, your team, and your company less likely to fulfill their aspirations, generate their desired impact, or leave the legacies they intend.
What are you waiting for?
Worthy Inquiries:
- Do your team members operate in alignment or at cross purposes? What impact does practicing shared values have?
- how do you demonstrate and reinforce what you deem most crucial as a leader? What conduct do you encourage? What behaviors do you tolerate?
- Have you determined your top two indispensable values? How can your people practice them if they remain unknown or cannot be readily recalled? Are you leaving what you deem most crucial to chance?
- How do you connect your team and inspire them to work together? What role does trust play? Does cooperation and collaboration improve when your people know what to expect and how to respond?
- Do leaders who reliably practice foundational values increase self-trust and inspire trust from others? If so, does doing so collectively over time create a self-reinforcing culture?
If you want to discuss ways to develop and grow your leadership to benefit yourself, your team, your family, or your organization, please reach out to me. I welcome the connection.
Robert Hackman, Principal, 4C Consulting and Coaching, helps people live and lead with fewer regrets. He grows and develops leaders through executive coaching consulting, facilitation, and training of individuals, teams, and organizations. He is committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He facilitates trusting environments that promote uncommonly candid conversations. Rob is also passionate about the power of developing Legacy Mindsets and has conducted over 50 Legacy interviews with people to date.
A serious man with a dry sense of humor who loves absurdity can often be found hiking rocky elevations or making music playlists. His mixes, including Pandemic Playlists and Music About Men, among others, can be found on Spotify.
Bravely bring your curiosity to a conversation with Rob, schedule via voice or text @ 484.800.2203 or rhackman@4cconsulting.net.