Core Values

What are the core values that define your organization? As a leader your actions and decisions should support your organizational core values. Our core values, which are all in support of our ability to meet our customers' needs and to provide award winning customer service, are to always be devoted to the professional development of our people, to maintain a high level of fiscal responsibility and to grow revenue. All three of these items add up to providing excellent products and services that are of great value to our customers. It is important that those in leadership positions within our organization focus on these attributes as they lead their teams towards accomplishing our goals in a local market in any of our 55 offices across the United States. While the path to accomplishing our goals might be different in each market, the road on which each leader in our organization travels is paved with the same asphalt.

I strongly believe that the core values of an organization define the leaders of that organization. Our core values can also be attributed to the individuals who were involved in the professional development of our current leaders. I for one am reminded of the lessons I have learned from those who have been in a mentoring role over the course of my career on almost a daily basis. It is easy for an organization or leadership within an organization to proclaim that it is devoted to the ongoing professional development of its people. It is much harder to actually execute this philosophy and to keep it ingrained into an organization's culture. I have a high degree of respect for those who are successful in making this a reality. A good barometer is in the number of folks who have been promoted from within an organization. A good leader always promotes the need for ongoing professional development to his or her folks so these individuals can get promoted. One way a leader can make this happen is to never stop working on his or her own professional development. An organization will take on the personality of its leaders. If you, as a leader, continue to work on your development, those that you lead will be more receptive to emulating this practice. Likewise, if you routinely show up late for work, it will become less important to those who work for you to be on time. People emulate their leaders. This is extremely important for those in leadership roles to remember whether at the office, after work, on the weekend, etc.

Every action that you do is, in some sense, like a ritual that celebrates the values that you hold.- Dr. Matthew Basston, Ethics Instructor

What are the core values of your organization? If you cannot answer this question quickly, make time to answer this question. Use your answers as a guide to make better decisions that will always be in support of what your organization is trying to accomplish.

Define Your Core

Being passionate about what you do for a living is fundamental in how effective you are as a leader. People gravitate towards people who love what they do for a living. You can instill your passion into your current leadership role no matter what you do professionally. This will not only energize your efforts, but will also make you a better leader. So how can you do this?

First make a list of the core beliefs and principals that govern your professional development. Be sure to also include what you are most passionate about from a business development perspective. Include everything just as though you are conducting a personal brainstorming session. Now take that list and create categories that would be inclusive of multiple items such as "organization" and "productivity" which can both fall under the category of "Time-Management." Now review your business strategy or your current business plans. You will increase your own personal effectiveness as a leader by increasing the levels of what you are most passionate about in how you are going to attain our goals.

A benefit of this practice is that people will emulate their leaders. If your level of passion about the things you and your team need to accomplish increases, your team's passion to accomplish the goals of the organization will also increase. This can transcend into building a work atmosphere that changes your office culture and elevates the energy level. One day you will walk into your office and the culture will be one of self-accountability. This means that the individuals that make up your team will be the ones that hold their peers accountable due to their increased level of commitment to accomplishing the goals of your office or business.

Increasing your own level of passion as to how you are planning to accomplish your goals will also create a higher level of ownership. Once again, people emulate their leaders, so this behavior will also improve the overall proficiency and mid-set of your team(s).

A clear understanding of what makes up your core is critical to your success. There are many roads you can take to accomplish your goals. Choose the road that keeps the "fire in your belly" alive and well.

What core values are at the top of your list?