Future@Work

An Employee Survival Guide
for the 21st Century

 

Values

 

What are your values? Are you sure?

 

Talking about values is often not a routine business discussion. However, I have found that the best companies often have a value-based culture.

 

For example, late in the 20th century, one well-known company asked all employees to abide by the following values:

 

• Tell the truth
• Be fair
• Keep your promises
• Respect individuals
• Encourage intellectual curiosity

 

This set of values was meant to be kept in the forefront of everyone's mind and used to guide their daily activities. As I think about it, it seems if everyone tried to live by these values, work life, and life in general, would improve for most of us.

 

While developing a set of shared values at work is certainly an important topic, living by shared values begins by living a set of personal values.

 

Establishing a set of personal values begins by asking, what principles do you use to guide your everyday actions? What you will allow yourself to think and do is determined by your values, or lack of values, as may be the case.

 

Values, then, are a statement of the limitations or boundaries that you use to guide your actions. For example:

 

• What will you or won't you do?
• What is a right or wrong action?
• What are the rules you live by?
• What are your principles or boundaries?
• What will you take a stand for? (If nothing, are all actions acceptable?)

 

Answering these questions and clarifying your values will give you an inner guiding light, that others cannot help but observe. This is especially true when the "storm winds of life" begin blowing hard. Your values become your rock or anchor.

 

 

Living by a set of personal values can make a vital difference in . . .