Core Values, So What's the Big Deal About them Anyway?

I don’t know about you, but I have taken an action, like grabbing a spoon in one hand and the jar of Nutella in the other (gifted to us by the gods themselves) and wondered as I scoop out a heavenly bite, “Why in the world am I doing this?” after I came from the gym and broke up with sugar, again.  It’s crazy! I then make a recommitment to ensuring I am in Peak State, which does not include a Nutella binge, and put the spoon down....

You can’t pick up a leadership book without it discussing the importance of a mission and vision statement (see my next blog post on this one) and sometimes the mention of Core Values.  I certainly knew about values, but never really knew the extent that our behavior was a direct reflection of our core values, which subconsciously drive our actions. As a faithful disciple of Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday series, I watch every episode and most often search the person’s Youtube video and/or buy the book.  I was very interested in the work of social researcher Dr. Brene’ Brown (you can access her TED Talk here) and her work on shame and vulnerability.  I was fascinated! Immersed in reflection, I began to apply her findings to my practice.  

Dr. Brown discusses core values, and how they shape our behavior.  I began to think about the most important values I want my kids to adopt and how we could teach and model them in school.  Influenced by Brene’s work, and that of many others, I thought about how many we should have, how they should be worded, and how to make them stick.  The number was easy - research shows we can remember 2-3 things at once, so I picked 3 They needed to be short and easy to recall. We needed a consistent means to teach and model them.  So, now what would they be? I thought about my kids and what they need, yes, according to the gospel of Dr. Honnick. My kids give up so easy and often are afraid to try. Many lack self-esteem and have little confidence.  I want them to develop those grit and perseverance muscles we know we need but how do you get them to flex? Going back to Brene’s work, the 3 core values for my school just popped out at me: BE BRAVE, try even if it is hard, SHOW UP, been seen and heard, and I AM ENOUGH, you already have everything you need inside and you are loved and cared for.  These felt really right to me, so they became our school’s Core Values.

Every week I met with the children in class meetings called Town Hall, designed to build community and share information.  The Google Slides routine was the same, repetitive to nauseam but necessary for absorption. Every week we reviewed the School-wide Expectations (that will be another blog post) and Core Values, describing what they mean and giving an example though videos, stories, and guest speakers.  I would hold “secret word” raffles and give a raffle ticket to the kids who can tell me the 3 Core Values, and although it took longer than I wanted (I mean come on, they’re so easy!) but by the end of the year the kids knew them. I also pushed them out on social media several times a week and constantly used hashtags with them (Instagram @dochonnick, Twitter @kimhonnick).  Kids would use the language and model what we were teaching all year. I was brought to tears when one of my seniors, Armani, incorporated the I AM into her Senior project on Leaving a Legacy.

So why Core Values?  Because they drive our behavior - words and actions - build community, and help form our character.  You will be amazed the first time you see or hear a kid refer to them...someone is always listening….