Team Engagement Journey > Team Engagement Toolbox > Crafting Values

Crafting Values

A FAMILY TOOL: BELONGING & INTIMACY

Cohesive team values can drive connection, engagement and performance, but when they aren’t clear or practised they provide no more benefit than a blank page on a wall. This tool will help you create and operationalise values within the team

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Purpose

This tool helps teams craft and operationalise values.

Typical scenarios

  • You want to intentionally craft a values-based team culture
  • The existing values aren’t impacting behaviour
  • Team members’ behaviour falls outside acceptable team norms
  • There is a lack of defined team norms

Why this is important

When values are out of alignment, people work towards different goals with different intentions, hampering the formation of team identity. The biggest problem with a set of specified values is when they remain on the boardroom wall and have no impact on behaviour and operations.

When team values become the key behavioural focus points for the team, they help entrench corporate DNA and streamline team performance. This tool will assist in operationalising values within the team.

The process

Steps for crafting values

Values are the standard by which a team sets their priorities. Through careful brainstorming and analysis (see the Problem Solving tool), select 3 – 5 key behavioural values for all team members to live and practice.

If values have already been selected, review if they are still appropriate or if they should be revisited.

Values are not just virtuous things to believe or do; they should be the drivers of key behaviours that will make the biggest difference within the team.

If company values have already been selected, we recommend that each team develop their own values, using the company values as a foundation to work from. Another approach is to select values that are relevant for that particular season. Ask yourselves: If someone read these values to you every time you made a decision, would they improve the outcomes?

Give a short definition (1 or 2 sentences) for each of your selected values to explain what each value means to the team. Get as much clarity on subjective words as possible. For example, if your value is “Serve clients with excellence”, make sure there is a clear, shared understanding of what “excellence” looks like for your team in the context that you are in.

To take the values from conceptual to practical, your team must craft do’s and don’ts around each value.

The “do’s” should be the aspirational behaviours we want all team members to strive towards. They set the bar for how the team acts in any situation and should include key things that work well for the team.

Think about the applications (meetings, working together on tasks, serving customers, etc.) where these values will be relevant.

Craft 1-3 do’s for each value. Here are a few example stems you can use:

  • When we work together on a task, we…
  • When we meet together, we…
  • We intentionally make time for…
  • We value… above…
  • When things become difficult, we focus on…
  • When I enter the office, my first thought should be…
  • When we approach customers, we…

Similarly, the “don’ts” should be strongly discouraged behaviours within the operations of each team. They should not be a list of opposites of the “do’s”, as this will be redundant. Rather, the “don’ts” are specific behaviours the team should proactively avoid.

Your “don’ts” will form a code of minimum acceptable behaviour, and any transgressions should result in a stern word from a team member, calling the other team member towards this code of conduct.

Craft 1 – 3 “don’ts” for each value. Here are a few example stems you can use:

  • When we work together on a task, we don’t …
  • We never…
  • When we meet together, we don’t …
  • When we approach customers, we don’t …

Crafting Values Example Spreadsheet

PRIORITISE DEFINE DO'S DON'TS
Impact We add value with a winning mindset We value impact before profit. Impact in people's lives drives us forward We don't approach clients in an impersonal way.
We aim to increase the impact in every service we give We never take shortcuts that negatively impact customer experience
We sacrifice profit (where needed) to increase impact We don't pass up opportunities to answer questions that could solve problems for our clients
Continuous improvement  We learn continuously with intentionality We spend time on regular reading up on things, and equipping ourselves We don't take critique on work as a critique on identity
We improve our content and templates every time we train on it We don't hold back on critique for fear of giving offense.
We give constructive feedback as often and immediate as possible We don't accept any version of the "This is too hard I quit" attitude
We learn from mistakes by completing our feedback report after every project We don't cut personal development time because of urgent work

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