by Mario Pretorius and Ian R Thomson

We have been asked over the years how to develop the culture of an organisation to support certain behaviours that are perceived as useful and to inhibit those which are perceived as less than useful. And of course we could argue the case as to who decides that values are more or less useful. Nevertheless, in this case, the following recommends that the group decides its own norms of behaviour so long as they are not at significant variance with those espoused by the whole organisation. Perhaps the facilitator could identify where there is a variance and open the discussion with the team as to what might change to bring them closer together.

1. To demonstrate that a leader needs to produce results which are both value driven and effectively delivered in practice

2. To identify the values of most importance to a team and its leader 

3. To review a plan of action which will deliver results worthy of the vision for the organisation

'... we strive to eliminate many of the complications and bureaucratic roadblocks most firms face and concentrate on the basics of our business. To do this, we live by a set of simple values: Tell the truth. Keep your promises. Be fair. Respect the individual. Encourage individual curiosity. Our markets, products and manufacturing processes can and do change. Our values, however, remain constant and are vital to delivering increased stakeholder satisfaction'

Robert Teerlink, Chairman and CEO, Harley Davidson

'We always talked about the hard stuff and the soft stuff. The soft stuff was the company's commitment to the workforce. And the hard stuff was what really mattered, getting product out of the door.

What we've learned is that the soft stuff and the hard stuff are increasingly entwined. A company's values - what it stands for, what its people believe in - are crucial to its competitive success. Indeed, values drive the business.'

Robert D Haas, Chairman and CEO, Levi Strauss & Co.

Vision creates the big picture to guide our actions. For example, a football team has a vision of winning the World Cup. The vision creates the energy amongst the group to perform.

Performance is the achievement of results that contribute to the realisation of the Vision. Each player must attend training and reach standards of strength, fitness and skill. The player must be capable of scoring goals, passing the ball and working in defence. They must be aware of strategies. Each match demands the players perform at peak performance and win.

Values are the way in which we seek to perform. Values for the team might be:

Dedication/Commitment - the players turn out for every practice session and make maximum contribution to the event. During the matches, they give 100% commitment. This means without moans and groans.

Integrity - the players are totally honest with their colleagues. If they have an injury, they tell the doctor and get the best treatment. They do not 'play on' as less than peak performance damages the team.

Teamwork - the players recognise that they are playing for the greater good of the team. They seek to use the talents of all the players to the full. They are not selfish and self serving.

Positive Attitude - all players believe in themselves and the team as having the capability to realise the vision. They have that attitude at all times - when the training gets tough, when the play begins to go against them.

For the long-term success of the vision, we need both performance and conformance with the values. Performance is fairly obvious as without achieving results the group does not move towards its vision and the team will disband. In our organisations, we have seen a great amount of time spent on creating strategies and setting goals/objectives by which to define performance. Less time has been spent on values.

Values define the environment in which the team operates and should create the longer-term basis for working together. For example, if the players are not honest with each other, they will not create the trust needed to share the glory of success. In the short term, the team can create the performance but over the longer term, players will leave and thereby weaken the team.

For example,

If we have neither performance and values;

Individuals may join the team to enjoy the camaraderie, because their friends play in the team, to chase girls, to make business contacts. They have no wish to perform as they might get hurt. They do not subscribe to the values as they will not make the commitment to the team - they are irregular at practice and turning out for matches. They have not the skills or attitude to see the team through to a win.

If we have performance but no values;

The individual plays with considerable dedication and performs on every occasion. He turns out to practice and shows considerable talent for the game. Perhaps, he is using this team to be seen by a scout to be signed by another team. He does not subscribe to the values of teamwork and integrity. He does not pass the ball to develop the team's strategy but plays to the crowd and to score. He is a 'prima dona'. It is difficult to understand why he is with the team other than to develop his own interests.

If we have values but no performance;

The individual does not perform well on the park. He lacks the skills and perhaps the strength to play the game. Perhaps he is simply playing out of position. However, he is an excellent team player, is committed and works always for the greater good of the team. The player is welcome to be part of our vision, but must either meet our fitness demands, find the right position or stand aside.

If we have both values and performance;

The player gives maximum performance on every occasion and honours the values of the team. When asked to watch the video of the opposition team playing, he turns up and watches with interest. He learns all there is to learn, because not to do so would let down the other members of the team. When asked to put in extra fitness training, he turns out without complaint, because it is seen as essential to move towards the vision.

The player is a great performer, envisions where the team is going, shares the values as a team player and ball player, supports and encourages his team mates and always shows total and absolute commitment.

Organisation

If this model holds any worth, the organisation needs to have three key elements:

    Vision which inspires the members

    Performance that proves we are moving towards our vision - Action

    Values of the Organisation

An exercise to define the key values for a team:

Introduce the topic by reminding all the group participants that their lives are driven by their personal beliefs and values. They are deep rooted, perhaps coming from early periods in their life and from key people - parents, grandparents, teachers, community religious leaders, their peers - and we do not always recognise the values that drive our behaviours. Each person has a hierarchy of values.

Some people take the time to consider their beliefs and values and some even change them as they consider what is more useful in their lives. So they can be changes. Consider some of the beliefs that are not longer useful - Santa Claus and Tooth Fairies might come to mind.

So with personal beliefs and values, we can have group or company values which drive the behaviours of all those in the organisation. These values may develop with the original owner/manager. Over time, they may be re-inforced or replaced with values from managers as they join the company. Often, there is not only a hierarchy but multiple hierarchies depending where you are in the organisation. This exercise allows us to consider what values are really useful.

Ask each participant to write down five values which they believe are essential for a strong company and note down what they contribute to the environment. You might want to be more precise by reflecting on the values that are important in a supplier/customer relationship - reminding all those present that there are internal customers as well as external.

Review these in pairs or small groups ensuring that each person has sufficient time to explain the importance of each value. Invite each group to find a way that produces a shared group of five values. Ask each group to feedback to the whole group.

Write up the values on the board/flipchart. Give each person 5 votes and invite them to mark the board with their votes. Identify the values with the most votes - usually 4-6 come above all others. Remind the group that the others remain of importance but usually we cannot remember a list of values - and we can remember up to 6. 

Write up a values statement encapsulating the preferred values. Get a reaction from the group to ensure that there is not a wide variation for each individual from the team's values and their own personal ones.

With the values agreed within the group, consider how they will appear as behaviours. For example, the group may agree that teamwork is a value. What does this really mean? When will we know when we are working as a team? How will we identify a behaviour that does not support the team? This will be unique for each team.

A story - a friend of ours used to buy his wife flowers; perhaps each week but regularly. He then got interested in their garden and spent many hours creating the right soil and habitat; he bought and planted many colourful flowers and plants. Eventually the garden began to look really beautiful with flowers in abundance.

Then one day, his wife complained that he did not buy her flowers. His reply; of course I do not buy you flowers. I have created a garden full of them for you. She replied that that was really nice but she liked him to buy cut flowers so she could put them in each room of her home. It was all about what one thought was valuable to the other. Sometimes it is useful just to ask or to explain!!!

Action:

Break the group into groups of 4/5 participants and ask them to brainstorm the following scenarios:

a) The manager is not performing well and does not subscribe to the values. What is happening to the business, what can be done to improve the situation?

b) The manager performs very well but does not subscribe to the values of the organisation. What is happening to the organisation, what can be done to improve the situation?

c) The manager does not perform well but subscribes to the values of the organisation. What is happening to the organisation, what can be done to improve the situation?

Each team will have 15 minutes to prepare a five minute presentation