As you think about hiring or how you get the right bulls into your herd, it’s important to step back from your overall approach and first and foremost ask, do I have a compelling reason for bulls to want to be in my herd?
We’re approaching a new year, and with it comes new year’s resolutions, of which your company should not be left out. Reevaluate your company’s core values and make sure that your company still stands by them.
by David Quick
in The bull is a reflection of who I am and what I want to invoke in other leaders. As a leader, you need to make sure that your herd is driven to be a part of the mission of the herd.
Last week I started sharing on the four main areas that I help businesses and organization with that are foundational for success and truly harnessing the power of your HERD. In part one I discussed the importance of every organization having a compelling (and repelling) vision. Today, in part two, I’m going do discuss the second foundational area for success: Core Values.
When you think of your company’s core values, ask yourself the following questions:
- Does everyone know how we want them to act and behave?
- Does everyone know what our core values are?
- Do I actually follow them?
- Does my team follow them?
In order for core values to have their desired impact in your company, then they must be alive and well; and that starts at the top. The core values need to be “published,” known by all, reinforced by leadership continually, and serve as a litmus test for decisions, actions, and behaviors.
Your core values should describe how your model citizen in the company acts and behaves. You want to describe the people who you’d want to clone. For example, I’ve helped an organization come up with things like, “We all are willing to sweep the floors.” It’s a simple mantra, but it shows that no task is beneath any of us and that we’re all equal parts of the collective team. Another organization created “We should all care deeply about our company, our colleagues, and our customers.” These are all measurable values you can then hold your team accountable to.
Finally, once your core values are established and truly being lived out by everyone, then you should hire to them, measure to them, and even fire to them. To have a healthy company culture, your employees must live the core values.
Stay tuned for next week’s blog as I’ll write about the third area that’s foundational for an organization’s success: Expectations.
If you want to listen to the entire podcast where I spoke about this, click here.
If you need help creating core values for your company, then click here to schedule a free executive consultation. Or, if you’re just curious about how I help executives and their businesses, shoot me a note or give me a quick call. dave@helpingbulls.com or 727-470-0877.
by David Quick
in After 6 weeks, we are in the final step of our blog series “Defining Core Values”. We’ve talked about using a star member of your herd as an example, soliciting feedback from your team and synthesizing in to 3-5 Core Values. These values represent the culture that your company wants to embody and they will help drive your business forward.
The final step is to ensure you have a great communication and training plan so that everyone in the herd can comprehend, digest and embrace the new core values. A great tactic to use to be able to share this information is through video. Our Know Bull Tips are an example – see below for how we talk about Core Values in an easy to digest format. Other tactics could be email, printed materials around the office, or a team call that encourages free flowing dialogue so that you have a clear idea of how your team is receiving these values.
That’s just about it for this blog series “Defining Core Values”. See below for our video and please provide feedback in the Reply Section.
Thanks for following us over the last six weeks. This wraps up our “Defining Core Values” blog series- Come by next week for more content that will help you and your herd.
by David Quick
in This week on “Defining Core Values”, we’re going to refine our list and ensure that it is not only representative of your culture, but that it is good for the business. Over the last few weeks we’ve talked about how to develop this list and how to give each value a name to make it memorable. Now, it’s time to ask yourself how they can be applied to the business.
It’s important to ensure you take this step seriously and think through how each member of your team will use these core values to move the business forward. At the end of the day, your herd should be working towards a common goal. So, take a look at the 3-5 Core Values you have on your list and ask yourself a few questions to make sure that they are a good fit:
- Will this value help us make decisions?
- Is the value memorable?
- Will each employee embrace the meaning in their day to day tasks?
Once you have the answers to the questions above you are very close to the end of this process. Ensure you include your herd in the conversation.
Check in later this week for our last step of Defining Core Values.
If you’re curious to know more or need help executing, put some time on my calendar at Strengthen Your Herd.
by David Quick
in This week I’d like to introduce you to a new way for you to connect with the content I have to share – Know Bull Leadership Tips. There are videos that are two minutes or less with quick, bite size pieces of information to help you Harness the Power of Your Herd.
This first video reiterates the question we’ve been talking about since week one of our blog series.
Press play to check it out and tune in tomorrow for Week 3 of “Defining Core Values”.
by David Quick
in When you start to think about the Core Values of your organization, it’s easy to jot down words or phrases that aren’t executable. Either they are too aspirational, too vague or too generic. If you want your team to embody your Core Values in everything they do, they have to be realistic, specific and compelling to them – and not compelling to others.
This last piece is interesting because if you do it right, it can repel people who don’t believe in your Core Values. The idea of repelling anyone from your company seems scary but it’s extremely powerful. By focusing on behaviors that are specific to the herd you are trying to inspire, it connects the team on a deeper level. Now they not only work together but they believe in something together. This creates a feeling of community that can increase engagement and insight initiative.
So, where do you start?
Well, think about the best, most engaged members of your herd. What beliefs, behaviors or traits do you see in them that keeps them delivering results and keeps them happy?
Step 1 is simply to write those things down.
Those folks are the heart – the “core” – of your company and to be able to define what about them makes them so special can be a great starting point to defining your entire company’s core values.
Make sure to get perspective from others on the team when you do this exercise. A small group with a mixture of “leaders” and “do-ers” will ensure you are seeing this list from all angles and will get you a more robust representation of what the ideal Core Values should look like.
Stay tuned for more about Defining Core Values next week when we dive deep in to Step 2 of this 6 Step process.
If you’re curious to know more or need help executing, put some time on my calendar at Strengthen Your Herd.