Making Moments Matter---by living your values (and your value)

As a facilitator and trainer, I like to get a sense of the company or organizational and team mission, vision, values and goals when working with a team. Far too often I see company and team values tucked away on a shelf (usually in a white binder), which likely indicates that the mission, vision and values are not a part of the everyday life of a team member at work. When employees feel connected to the bigger picture, they are invested in the business. Here are 3 ways to bring your company and team values to life:

1. Ensure that the team is familiar with, understands and is connected to the organizational and team values. Ensure that your mission, vision and values is clearly understood and the team members see the role they contribute to the organizational mission.

2. Walk the talk by being a role model for the organizational values. Communicate values as part of the expectations of one’s job. Use the language in the mission, vision and values in your every day communication.

3. Find champions in the workplace who are examples of employees living the mission, vision and values. Recognize and acknowledge performance that is congruent to the values of the organization. And, provide feedback or redirect those who may not be living or performing congruently to the values.

When you breathe life into the values, instead of simply having them become a document that fades into the woodwork, you support one another in making moments matter.