By Jeff Bell.
We all pay at least lip service to organisational values, but how deep do we go?
Wherever people gather, we will align on values. We will be attracted to people who share our values and be repelled by those who do not. This alignment may happen instantly; it may take longer.
The implications for the leader are…profound.
It is up to us to set the values that we want in the organisation. The minute we assume the leadership role, this will be happening–people will take note of what we say and what we do and will adjust their behaviour as they see fit. This will mostly happen outside awareness.
In my previous posts, I have laid out a format for the representation of values and what I call indicative behaviours–for instance:
Commitment. We intend this to mean that we choose what is right and we lock it in. Our indicative behaviours are:
- We set clear goals and follow a plan to achieve them.
- We state our commitments publicly.
- We ask ourselves “What can we do to make this better?” when things go wrong.
- We strive to make the best of what we have.
- We constantly seek to build templates for success.
- We understand that we have responsibilities, rather than a role or a job.
- We are responsible for our own feelings and actions.
- We exercise self-discipline to keep our commitments.
- We repay our debts, no matter what.
- We hold ourselves and others accountable for all commitments made.
There are 5 other values in my set, each with their 10 indicative behaviours (the “Vs&Bs”).
As the leader, we have the responsibility to write these, to make them known, to promote them at every turn and to ensure that our performance is in line with this format.
And there is a rider–our own inevitable flaws. There will be at times a gap between what we say that we want and how we ourselves behave.
We need to accept that this will happen and we need to take steps accordingly–both by seeking feedback and by creating an environment where the alignment between the stated values and everyone’s behaviour is up for challenge. That is, values are always on the agenda and everyone has an equal responsibility to follow and promote them.
There is no one point more crucial than the others, but recruitment will be the starting point for most.
You may have heard of the practice of hiring on values, training on skills. These values will have been learned through the candidate’s family culture and will be deeply ingrained. They will have had some adjustment through their socialisation as an adolescent.
For fully-formed adults–let’s say, those over 25–who they are is likely who they will always be. The point being, who the person is, is more important than what they can do–the former is already formed, the latter can be learned.
So, given that we have articulated and promoted the organisational values and their indicative behaviours, how do we use them in the attraction and recruitment process?
At no stage should we use the facile approach of asking a prospective employee if they agree with the values as a condition of employment. i.e. the interviewer asks “do you agree?”, the candidate says “yes” and they are hired. No.
- The Vs&Bs are provided to all short-listed candidates who are asked for their reactions. There is a conversation led by the recruiter and another by the leader. The dual intent is to emphasise alignment and to gauge the candidate’s values fit.
- Based on skills and experience–and nothing more than a guess on values at this stage–the candidate may be provisionally hired. They are informed that their success will be determined by living the values and developing their skills.
- The leader makes an assessment on how good a values fit the candidate is, based on their day-to-day behaviour and the observations of their workmates and the recruiter. Their actual appointment comes after a 3 or 6-month probationary period.
Once appointed, the VS&Bs remain on the agenda forever–we are all aligned to the values and behaviours as stated, or we are not hired.