“People say we think and act differently, and we do.”
-The Riverbend Group
Ever considered how the Core Values at your workplace show up? Can you quote them? Are they tangible? Can you recite them? Where do they sneak in your 40-hour week? Are they stagnant, just black and white letters on a page or painted on an office wall? Are they living, breathing, and moving? How do your Core Values feel? Smell? Taste? Hear? What do they look like? What do your Core Values Do?
At The Riverbend Group- our core values: Character, Love, Fortitude, and Ingenuity ARE living, breathing actions we witness daily. And fortunately, we are given the time to share observable proof with one another on a weekly basis. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3 to share how Core Values are weaved and celebrated at your workplace.
Step 1: Plan.
Make it a priority to discuss and recite your core values. Put it at the top of an internal meeting agenda. Allow it to set the tone for your meetings, celebrating where you saw them show up. At Riverbend we spend the first 5 minutes of our weekly team meeting describing our Core Values and how they looked within our virtual cubicles and how they showed up with our clients.
Step 2: Share.
Set expectations to only share concrete, actionable examples of where your team saw your Core Values show up. Maybe it was a handwritten thank you note to a client, maybe it was extra time spent collaborating on an internal project, maybe it was an extended white boarding session, or taking the time to love a colleague after a bad start to a morning. However, your core values looked that week, share the experience with your team.
Step 3: Celebrate.
Be intentional about celebrating your core values throughout the year. At Riverbend it might look like a box of chocolates in the month of February = Love. Or maybe it’s a reward of an early afternoon of rest, work free, on a summer afternoon = Fortitude. It could even be a creative excursion or a mention of an inspirational read which encourages innovative thoughts = Ingenuity.
What will your core values start DOING when given a chance? Start to witness core values come to life and share the living proof with your coworkers. Not only are you breathing life into your core values, but you will also begin to see new life being created in your workplace, on your teams, and everyone you encounter.
People say we think differently, and we do.