Become a values virtuoso
Once you know what your values mean, you can begin the climb to mastery. Still, the gap between the bottom two layers of the pyramid and the top three is akin to calling the Grand Canyon a ditch. The chasm is so rarely bridged because it takes concerted discipline and consistent effort.
These are the opposite of how many people approach values. Performative and shallow, the work is often designed to make people feel good in the short term at the cost of long-term progress.
Here’s a reminder of the Values Pyramid.
Scaling the pyramid is a different and dynamic way of doing values. As people join your organisation and work with others, they will reach different levels and move at different speeds. It’s a continual process.
If you missed the two previous articles, read them here and here.
In the previous article, I outlined the foundation of values: ‘I know what they are’ and ‘I know what they mean’. The top three layers — ‘I use them in my work every day’, ‘I use them when they are inconvenient’, and ‘I encourage others to use them too’ — provide a path to autonomy and mastery, where you can unlock and sustain people’s enthusiasm.
Let’s keep climbing.
I use them in my work every day
Each person’s day contains multitudes of actions and decisions. Some are consequential, others mundane and repetitive. Still, most sit somewhere between.
Many organisations will make a cursory check on values when considering new products, acquiring a company and hiring and firing staff. Less common is for them to play a central part in thinking about processes, when considering IT investments, crunching policy or revamping procurement.
Further into people’s efforts, they become muted or silent altogether in how they communicate and behave with co-workers and carry out everyday tasks.
To keep climbing, encourage people to expand the habits I talked about last time. And keep connecting with what the values mean for how they do things. This will help generate feelings of ownership, which is an essential step for reaching the top of the pyramid.
I use them when they are inconvenient
Sticking to your values is easy when they align with what’s happening around you. That’s entry-level stuff. Holding them when it’s inconvenient is a higher bar. When doing it costs something. Maybe money or opportunities. Perhaps you’ll disappoint others who want a different decision.
And while I agree that genuine values should be non-negotiable. It is also true that it’s difficult not to trade them when everything around you demands a different choice.
To avoid the ‘just this once’ slippery slope, praise people who do the right thing — where ‘right’ are behaviours and decisions that sit within your established boundaries.
I’m not a fan of company-wide hero-style programs. Instead, try in-person acknowledgments or team 60-second values shares at the start of meetings. Both cultivate an environment for doing the right thing.
To keep climbing to mastery, never punish people for choosing the values, especially when there’s a cost.
I encourage others to use them too
Encouraging others sits at the apex of the pyramid because it requires people to put what others think of them on the line.
They can quietly honour the values in their work, even when inconvenient, without saying a word to anyone else. And sure, actions will speak volumes. But you won’t see your values in the corners of the company if co-workers don’t rally each other to use them too.
For people to risk that step, they need to feel safe. Nothing will make them flee the values faster than saying we believe x and then criticising someone for doing it. Holding to a value shouldn’t require an act of courage.
People’s enthusiasm can carry values to new heights where they power how you do things and your brand. But ultimately, the environment you create will dictate how high you climb and how long you stay there.
If you want to dive deeper into how to make the most of your values, download the Values collection — 20 articles to help you find and put your values to work.
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