A521.5.4.RB_FodenJohn (Aligning Values)

As employee or owner (or manager), do you find it easy or enjoyable to go to work every a.m. or Monday? Do you fear or look forward to sharing 8-10 hours of your day with colleagues and supervisors? What drives your anxiety (or excitement)? Do you believe your values conflict with or support your organization’s values and efforts? Individuals and groups make progress (or not) via their values. Will values you practice everyday confirm your (personal or corporate) espoused values/mission or counter them?

 Denning (2011) characterized four sets of values organizations operate under to conduct business: robber barons, hardball strategists, pragmatists, and ethical. Of particular note, organizations embrace ethical values when they supports employees’ well-being simply because those values are the “right thing” to do, not because they increases profit. Or when an organization pursues eco- or community friendly practices even when not required. An ethical business is one that does what’s right or responsible for intrinsic purposes, not simply for ulterior profit, instrumental, or organizational benefit. 

Organizations must create a roadmap as to how they want to get from here to there. In what manner they want to achieve their goals. Values development define these initial, elementary elements. How do organizations develop and align values?

 First, decide what your corporate values are and then clearly explain those values to employees, partners, and customers. An organization must establish its mission/objectives, yet make sure its values are consistent with that mission. Some wonder if an organization/business can remain effective if it pursues moral values to the detriment of its stated (existential) mission. Denning alluded businesses have forgotten how to incorporate ethics because they pursue shareholder value (financial gain) at the detriment of ethics/values.

Next, an organization must assure employee values are consistent with organizational values to generate parallel energy. Denning (2011) claimed employees are better connected with an organization to which they can relate stating, “Clarifying values, for instance in a workshop on the subject, can lead people to understand how they are personally connected with the organization’s values – or not.” (pg. 135) Organizations can facilitate a similar relationship between organizational and personal values by hiring to that standard. Also, by an organization demonstrating how effective its values are in practice, most employees would naturally commit to supporting those values. If too much negativity exists in the work-force, it is an indication some employees and the organization don’t share (at least some) values.

 Organizations must operate consistent with their corporate values so those values become more than simply a catchy slogan. Denning (2011) asserted organizations not operating within their espoused values lose customers and disenfranchise employees. He stated “The hypocrisy involved in espousing values that are not acted on generates significant distrust.” (pg. 136)

 After that, the organization must protect its values to nurture the trust it has built with its customers/employees. Then be prepared to re-instate those values if time/business practices degrade them.

Organizational values can be aligned with personal values. Denning (2011) built a template (pg. 150) to develop and align organizational values. Primary actions include:

·      Define specific values I’d like to communicate or feel are important
·      Are there other corporate values in conflict with it? Have there been conflicting events?
·      Draft a story that espouses those values. Can audience relate to the story/protagonist?
·      Does the story link to purpose in telling it?

Dr. Randall S. Hansen created the Quintessential Careers website which published a workplace values assessment enabling anyone to evaluate personal values which can be used to pursue careers or employers consistent with those values. The “Workplace Values Assessment” stated “People expect to achieve certain ideals from their jobs, employers, and careers. These workplace values, concepts, and ideas that you hold dear have a direct impact on your satisfaction with your job, with your career, and even with your life. When you understand the values you cherish most highly, you can make an evaluation about whether your current (or a prospective) employer supports those values.” After completing the assessment, one should be prepared to pursue employment with an organization that carries those same values.

 Denning (2011) discussed aligning organizational structure with values to ensure consistent corporate stories, policies, and practices for reliable messaging to employees, customers, and public. He suggested the importance of using a reward system that encouraged behaviors, attitudes and actions consistent with values. Compensation should be engineered to encourage desired behavior toward cherished values.

Next, Denning (2011) labeled three components to fashion an ethical community.

·         Trust: Corporate expectation that colleagues will behave in the best interests towards each other. I have confidence what you tell me (to the best of your ability) is true or will happen.
·         Loyalty: Accept responsibility to hold back from offending each other’s good intentions and satisfy the responsibilities resulting from that trust. (I won’t try to counter your plans).
·         Solidarity: Safeguard the interest of others even if it conflicts with selfish priorities. (I will support you, no matter what).

 I serve in an operational military headquarters unit staffed with civilian, Army, Navy, Marine, and Air Force personnel. The unit’s rank structure ranges from mid-level enlisted to our commander who is a two-star general. From my mid-management position, I anticipate the unit should bolster it trust, loyalty, and solidarity. These building blocks have been compromised from traditional service rivalries and the untraditional processes our unit implements because of the organization’s non-traditional structure. There appears to be inter-directorate dissonance at senior levels as well as conflicting guidance from our command level. Also, our command suffers from employee dissatisfaction and frustration due to workload to personnel expectations. Our commander directed the unit participate in two climate assessments/surveys to understand the gravity of these values shortfalls in order to institute a recovery plan. In my humble opinion, senior leadership could dissipate much of the disharmony by taking into consideration employee concerns and insights to boost clear, precise guidance for action.

            Creating and aligning consistent, effective corporate and individual values is the blueprint in standing up an organization that effectively achieves its objectives. Values are the foundation of what the organization can become and what it represents (to its employees and customers). Values either produce positive or negative attitudes and energy. What do the values of your organization convey to its shareholders and its mission?

References                           

Denning, S. (2011). The leader’s guide to storytelling: Mastering the art and discipline of  

            business narrative. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Hansen, R. (2013). Workplace values assessment: Do you know the work values you most want in

             a job and an employer -- and does your current employment reflect those values?
             A quintessential careers quiz. Retrieved from

             http://www.quintcareers.com/workplace_values.html

 

Whalen, D.J. (2007). The professional communications toolkit. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

          Publications, Inc.