Today’s
post from the Take time to Lead newsletter from my friends at Glowan Consulting…
The match
between your employees’ values and the organization or team’s values is a more
powerful factor in keeping good people than even money.
How
satisfied are your talented people with their everyday tasks?
Do you
know enough about your employees’ values to answer that question?
Values
are not difficult to uncover, but they are powerful forces in an employee’s
decision to stay or leave. Imagine your employees as your customers.
What do
they value most? How can you help them attain it, and sustain it? The risk of
losing employees because of conflicts over values is far greater than the risk
of losing them because of compensation. Values define what we consider to be important.
They are the standards by which we measure our bottom-line needs. The more your
employees’ work incorporates their values, the more they will find that work
meaningful, purposeful, and important.
When
values are left out of the work equation, the work may still get done, but
without the energy and commitment. Eventually, either you or your employees
will notice. Today’s employees across all generations want to find value and
meaning in their work. Our lives aren't as compartmentalized as they once were,
and more employees are demanding a better blending of work and home life.
Organizations
have vision statements, mission statements, and values statements, but they
rarely have a process that helps employees determine the link between those
statements and their own values.
Any of
the following can help you start a conversation about values:
-What do
you need most from your work?
-Does the
job deliver?
-What
makes for a really good day?
-What
would you miss if you left this job?
-What did
you like best about other jobs you’ve had?
-Tell me
about a time when you really felt energized at work.
These
questions can be asked during any one on one conversation that you have with
your direct reports.
Another
reason to learn more about values is to insure smoother functioning of your
team. Organizations are more team-based than ever, yet the failure to
understand one another’s values can lead to discord on teams. The team that
cannot draw on its members’ values may end up arguing, wasting time, and
failing. Team members lose heart when organizational values and their values do
not mesh.
Diversity
of values will build strength in your team. Those who value creativity will be
your innovators. Those who value independence will work productively for long
stretches without prodding from you. Those who value order and routine will be
your dependable, solid citizens.
Don’t try
to make the solid citizen into a creative innovator.
Recognize
what each person values and mine those values for the sake of the whole team.
Here are
some questions that might stimulate a team discussion about values:
-What are
the values of our work team?
-How are
we similar?
-How are
we different?
-How
might our differences get in the way?
-Under
what circumstances or pressures do we find our values colliding? What can we
learn from someone whose values are different from our own?
Finally, be aware of your
own values — and their impact on your employees.
About Glowan
The Glowan consulting Group was formed in 1993 on the premise that individuals
and organizations needed more that just pre-designed, prescripted
"training" to meet their human development goals. Organizations and
our societies are changing at a rate never seen before in our experience and we
need tools, techniques and support systems to meet those new challenges. Glowan
has been meeting those needs via our broad and deep offerings of Leadership and
Management Development Services and Products. Visit www.glowan.com for more information.
