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Values & Behaviours

Quality Coach is an e-letter of hints, ideas and perspectives to help you create an intelligent quality system : simple, practical and flexible.     

Values in Action - how to communicate them

Interested in an excellent example of how to communicate values?

You may recall I think it can be very valuable for an organisation, whether nonprofit or commercial, to have an explicit set of values or principles. It's a way of being very clear about what you believe, what you consider as important and what you want to guide your culture and how your people behave.

This organisation has chosen 5 values. Then they also created a short list of behaviours under each of these values, written in clear and simple English - my favourite kind.

The list shows the positive ("here are the behaviours we think illustrate this value in action") and also the negative ('here are behaviours contrary to the value, which we don't want around here").

Here's one example.

The value: "Integrity by being open honest and fair."

The expected/encouraged behaviours are:

• I take responsibility for my actions
• I do what I say
• I communicate in an open,genuine manner"

And the illustrated unacceptable ones:

• I say one thing and do another
• I gossip and spread rumours
• I conceal mistakes"

You can see a full set of the values and behaviours from this link. Worth looking at. Nicely presented as colour *.PDF files. Oh, and they give every employee (paid and unpaid volunteers) a nifty little pocket/purse-sized one printed copy, too. I'm impressed - let me know what you think.

PS Don't even bother with values unless you believe in them, and won't just write them, but will also live by them and use them - especially when making tough calls. If they're just one more bit of pretty wallpaper, or only convenient when it suits you, they're even worth than useless.  

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 Personal leadership is the process of keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent with them.
~ Stephen Covey

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