How one client is changing the way they embed their values.

Almost every organisation has company values; however, let's be honest; most pay lip service to them. They launch them with the best of intentions of bringing them to life.

 'let's be honest; most pay lip service to them.'

But how do you genuinely instil values?  If you are happy just to tick the box, then this post is not for you. If, however, you are serious about your values and you're not embedding them as you'd hoped for, then read on to see how one of our clients is intending to embed theirs.

'Values need to be socialised, to be shared, to hold each other to account.'

Values are the behavioural standard by which we measure ourselves and others, but for them to become part of the fabric of the organisation they need more than a briefing, a few artefacts on the walls, a screensaver or even that awkward conversation at appraisal time. Values need to be socialised, to be shared, to hold each other to account. Your people need to be able to recognise when they are living them and more importantly, when they fall below.

One of our clients is taking a new approach. They are socialising their values, bringing them to life through a scenario-based discussion where groups can discuss how their values play out against real situations. The group get to vote on four imperfect choices. A facilitator guides the discussion, challenging assumptions and reflecting their conversation. The debate drives towards calibration where the group collectively agrees on the right things to do; the endowment effect means that they own the outcome, and peer pressure will reinforce the commitment to future behaviour.

'they own the outcome, and peer pressure will reinforce the commitment to future behaviour.'

How do they plan to achieve this? They are going to use our group coaching tool - 'What Would You Do?' (WWYD). Ideal for short burst sessions, it brings together group coaching, social learning and psychology. Groups debate norms and judge, test, explore and challenge assumptions, all in a safe space. A facilitator 'coaches' the group, reflecting their discussion. The group evaluates the consequences of their suggestions. The group calibrate what good looks like, collectively agreeing what they should do in a given situation.

'develop a sound understanding of what values really mean in practice.'

WWYD can work for any topic where there are no hard and fast rules, where things are open to interpretation, If you would like to learn more about our off-the-shelf topics, our different editions or how we can customise your content, visit our website where you can also book a free hour-long demo.