Hey- what if your core belief is wrong?!?!!!

I  was delivering leadership training today to a group of front-line leaders in the manufacturing industry and the discussion centered around whether or not leaders should ever apologize. It was a fascinating conversation especially because one of the participants said that it was a core belief of theirs to never say sorry- a value that they had inherited from their father who described apologizing as a sign of weakness.

I was fairly firm and challenging the participant’s core belief, suggesting to him that he would have better working relations and personal relationships if he was prepared to admit when he makes mistakes, especially to his partner at home.

It was fairly obvious to me that this person needed to have their core belief challenged for the sake of doing a life well, but it did make me think about my own core beliefs, and some of my thinking around those.

In terms of the professional world, do you have organisational values, and if you do, how much traction do they have with the wider team? Are they simply a two-dimensional poster on the lunch room wall? Are these values regularly talked about, reinforced, celebrated, and have they become part of the fabric of the organisation to the point where they are used in everyday language?

And what about your personal values? For starters, are you clear on what your personal values are? And if so, how often do they reinforce your thinking or behaviour, and how often do they challenge you when you’re thinking and behaviour are not in line with your values?