Vision and Values: The heart of business transformation

Vision and Values: The heart of business transformation

Whenever I commence a coaching assignment with a business client we start by working on creating the vision and values for the company.  It is common for my clients to initially see this process as a waste of time until they get to understand the power that these create.

Rather than be a soft feel-good activity, clearly articulating WHY the business exists, WHAT the future looks like for the company, and HOW you will get there, are the absolute foundations of any business large and small.  A good vision and values process will identify exactly these.

I have worked in a range of organisations over the years and I would say about half actually lived their vision and values.

What does it look like to work for a company that lives and breathes its vision and values?

It means that

  • Conversations regularly include references to the values
  • There is recognition in the salary reviews for employees who consistently demonstrate the values
  • Any disciplinary action specifically makes reference to the values.
  • Recruitment & selection decisions are clearly aligned to what the company needs in order to achieve the vision
  • Training and development planning have a direct link to the strategic vision
  • Vision and values are used in the decision making

There has been significant financial investment over the past two decades to create company vision and values statements that, I feel, have been lukewarm at best in their ability to engage and transform.

Some of the reasons could be that

  • The process of creating the vision and values has failed to engage employees and leaders
  • The belief that there is no “I” in Team causing individuals to have their voice taken away
  • The existence of “elephants in the room” preventing open and robust discussion
  • The assumption that everyone shares the same meaning of the terms used

When a company has a compelling vision and values set they have the power to bring out the very best behaviour and performance in the people.  They have the ability to increase profitability, brand awareness, and market share.

In 1994 Samsung CEO was unhappy with the company’s performance and quality of its products.  The CEO’s created a value proposition to its employees which was simply “change everything but your wife and children”.  These seven words breathed energy into the organisation.

By the new century Samsung products were perceived as high quality and so they were able to charge premium prices.  Their brand became well respected as the company transformed to be one of the top leaders in IT.

A compelling vision and values set can only come from honest conversation across a company.  It requires a significant commitment of senior leaders and employees to be open and engage in constructive discussion with candor.  Nothing can be left on the table; the process must allow the invisible to become visible.  If a company is in a difficult position financially, this type of process is the best process to utilise to transform the situation.

How does it work?

I mentioned before that a compelling vision and values contain the WHY, WHAT, & HOW.

WHY does the company exist?  This is the backbone for everything the company is about.  Is it because the company cares about a particular thing?  Does it have the expertise to improve something for someone?

WHAT does the company want to achieve in the future?  Does the company want to be known as the best in its field? Does it want to achieve a level of revenue / sales within a certain timeframe?  This is the vision or aspiration for the company and is used for all decision making and strategic planning.

HOW will the company achieve its vision?  What does the company commit to in order to achieve its vision?  These commitments become the values.  For values statement to mean something they need to be action orientated and tell the stakeholders what the company will never compromise on.  This is where the real power comes from.

If you were looking to create a new vision and values for your company or you believe it is time for them to be revised, I suggest that you look for consultants who can do the following

Provide an understanding how the brain works. 

Neuroscience has uncovered a lot in understanding the impact that conversation has on the brain.  For example research has found that

  • Trust is located in the executive brain or prefrontal cortex whereas distrust is located in the primitive brain.
  • In the absence of trust the primitive brain is activated and our responses are focused on protecting and defending.
  • In the face of something new, our default, unconscious response is to defend and protect.

Create a high trust environment

The development of trust has be the first part of the process.  Without trust there is limited opportunity for creativity and thinking about future possibilities.  Trust works to open up the parts of the brain where creativity, innovation and relationship building occur.  These close down in the absence of trust causing people to fear threatened and insecure or unsafe.

Consultants who can create a high trust environment for people to feel that they can contribute without judgement will deliver a significantly better outcome than consultants who don’t.

Create a shared understanding. 

All too often we assume everyone thinks like us.  For a company to create a compelling vision and values, all employees, leaders and departments must share a common meaning of the words and statements used.  A failure to focus on this during the process will lead to lower engagement and acceptance levels.

If you were to select a consultancy that was able to provide these in their vision and values workshops you can be assured that the resulting statements for your company will be compelling and energising.  You will quickly see the changes in the organisation having rolled out your new vision and values.  You will want to engage with them.

Conversational Intelligence and the art of Priming

I attended a conference last week.  That isn’t noteworthy in itself except for the big learning I got from it.

 

You see I experienced first hand the value of priming.

 

So what is Priming?

 

It is a technique that is used heavily in Conversational Intelligence ® that is proven to increase the levels of trust with and between people.  When we prime people we open them up to higher order thinking, sharing what’s on their mind and curious to understand other perspectives.  It is a fantastic technique to use when you have to deal with an unpleasant situation.

 

The priming that I was subjected to was not intentional; in fact I see it as accidental.  It happened as a result of a meeting the state presidents attended the day before the conference.  We got to know each other and spent an afternoon sharing, suggesting, challenging and understanding.  I left feeling that I belonged to the team.

 

How often when you attend conferences do you know many people there?  Do you find it hard sometimes to find people who you connect with and share your point of view?  How does this impact what you absorb from the presentations?

 

As a result of the presidents meeting I had a very positive outlook on the 2 day conference.  We found ourselves touching base regularly during the conference and we talked at length about the topics.  We didn’t have to spend time getting to know each other because we had already established the team.  Instead our time was spent discussing the concepts and contexts and gaining a deeper meaning.  I felt involved, respected and trusted.

 

Priming, as a technique, is about engaging people’s higher order thinking.  It does this by down regulating their fears and uncertainties about the situation.  Only when this happens can people move into higher brain thinking.  This is because fear and uncertainly release cortisol which would otherwise shut down these parts of the brain.  Priming helps move people out of their default protective behaviour patterns that create distrust and insecurity.

 

How can this be achieved?

 

Supposing you need to speak to your team about a new cost cutting requirement sweeping the organisation.  These discussions are never easy and you know that it will result in them becoming upset &/or insecure about their jobs.  Teams become demotivated, their performance drops and bickering increases.

 

Priming offers a different outcome.

 

The intention of priming is for you to gain an understanding of what your team members are thinking about the situation, what their top concerns are, and what they need out of the meeting.  Your role in priming is to ask questions, clarify points and to listen without judging.  This works by settling their anxieties, giving them a space to open up and be understood.  We feel better when we have had a chance to share what is on our minds but we can only do this when we feel safe.  Therefore it is critical not to judge, crticise or defend your opinion.  Your goal is to reduce their anxiety and cortisol.  Conversational Intelligence ® is focused on brain activity and learning how to manage your own and that of others.

 

Now when you have the team meeting, your team will be ready to tackle the issues rather than become inwardly focused and operating out of their primitive brain.  To maintain the energy you continue to ask questions and listen without judgement allowing the team to digest the requirements and talk.  You will find the team more engaged as a result.

 

The key to all the suggested techniques that I offer is to experiment, fail, reflect, tweak, and experiment again to find a way that works for you.  Unfortunately there are no magic spells or quick fixes to this technique or any others in the Conversational Intelligence ® portfolio.  Practice will make improvement and you will see the benefits from the changes that take place.

 

If you would like more information on how to use the priming technique, please connect with me.