Core Values in Action
“The decisions you make are a choice of values that
reflect your life in every way.” - Alice Waters
Core Values as Strategy
Core values describe a person’s principles, standards of behavior, and judgments about what is important in life. Individual and collective values have been associated with a number of positive outcomes, such as trust, job satisfaction, memory and skill development, resiliency and adaptability, readiness for change, goal attainment, commitment, self and collective efficacy, student achievement, educator performance, happiness, and general well-being. See my blog, The Value of Core Values, for more information on the link between core values and positive outcomes.
Therefore, understanding and harnessing the power of personal core values and the values of others is vital for educators, leaders, and others in capacity-building roles to help reach individual and collective goals. By strategically embedding core values into everyday practices, educators and leaders can create lasting improvements rather than short-term fixes, enhancing the overall effectiveness of their efforts.
Further, identifying and behaving congruently with our core values helps us make more thoughtful and informed decisions about what truly matters, develop meaningful and purposeful goals in our personal and professional lives, and make it more likely to reach those goals. Yes, you read that right… When our values inform our goals, we are more likely to reach and exceed those goals!
Identifying Your Core Values
Core values are the foundation of our character, but their true power is revealed through our actions. Values only matter if they are lived out in tangible ways. As leadership expert, speaker, strainer, and author of “Values-Based Leadership for Dummies,” Mary Gamb aptly puts it, "Words without action are useless and hollow."
Before we can communicate and live by our values daily, we must first identify them. This identification process is crucial because it provides clarity and direction for our behavior. When we know our core values, they become a compass to help guide us to make the best decisions we can. This clarity helps us stay true to ourselves, even when faced with difficult choices. It also allows us to communicate our values to others, fostering trust, understanding, and a sense of belonging in our personal and professional relationships.
Identifying our values is the first step toward living a life of authenticity, success, and happiness. It's about understanding what truly matters to us and using that understanding to navigate the complexities of life. Once we have this clarity, we can align our actions with our values, ensuring that we live in a way that is consistent with our deepest beliefs.
Brief Core Values Sort Activity
While there are many ways to clarify values, one I use most often in my professional learning and strategic planning work is a modified version of a values sort activity. A quick search online will reveal a variety of values lists and card decks. As discussed in my blog, The Value of Core Values, my favorite is the PEAK Values® Card Deck. Given that time constraints often don’t allow for a full card sort, I developed a brief, 1-page list of values I’ve found relevant to educators, administrators, and nonprofit leaders in their work: Brief Core Values Sort Activity. I’ve organized them into four columns that made sense to me: Learning, Harmony, Integrity, and Drive.
Brief Core Values Sort Activity Protocol:
The following protocol can help you clarify and prioritize your core values. This activity can be done individually to reflect on your personal values or facilitated with a group to explore collective values.
Individual Reflection: Use this protocol to identify and prioritize your own core values. Reflect on what matters most to you in your professional and personal life.
Group Facilitation: If you're a leader or educator, this protocol can also be used to guide a team through the process of identifying shared values to enhance group cohesion and effectiveness.
Protocol Steps:
Identify Your Top 5 Values: Begin by reflecting on what truly matters most to you as a professional. Use the Brief Core Values Sort Activity, which includes a list of relevant values organized into four categories: Learning, Harmony, Integrity, and Drive. Circle your top 5 core values on the list.
Narrow Down to 3 Values: After selecting your top 5, narrow them down to your top 3 work-relevant core values. This step may be challenging, but it helps you focus on what is most important.
Choose Your Number 1 Value: Finally, reduce your list to your single most important core value. This step encourages deep reflection and prioritization. Remember, this is just an activity for the moment, and you can continue to revisit and refine your values in the future.
Guiding Questions and Discussion: Once you've selected your top core value, reflect on how you manifest this value in action. Consider what it looks like, sounds like, and feels like when you live in alignment with this value. Discuss with others (or journal if doing this individually) about a time when you or someone else exemplified this core value. These discussions help transition from thinking about core values as abstract concepts to understanding them as actionable behaviors.
Collective Values: Ideas for Teams and Organizations
Developing a set of collective values can greatly enhance team cohesion and effectiveness. Here are a few steps and considerations I've used to successfully conduct core values sorting with groups to establish and integrate collective team values into practice:
Facilitated Workshop & Team Discussions. Organize a session where team members participate in a guided core values sort activity. This can be done face-to-face or virtually. Use the same process of identifying, narrowing down, and selecting top work-related values as above, and ensure everyone has time to discuss their value(s) in action. Encourage team members to share why their selected values are important for them individually and for the group overall. Have each team member share a personal story about how a particular value has guided their actions and decisions at work. These conversations build clarity, mutual respect, and a shared sense of responsibility for a values-driven approach to work.
Identifying Themes and Coming to Consensus. Work together to find common themes among the individual values selected. You may need to develop another core value term or definition that represents a group of values. I encourage groups to develop no more than three to five total collective values, as more than that gets difficult to define and implement in practice. Make sure everyone agrees and feels represented by the collective values as defined. Remember to celebrate after the team comes to a consensus on their core team values!
Visual Representation and Integration. Develop and display a prominent visual representation of the team’s core values, such as a poster, laptop sticker, or other swag. Discuss and integrate the core values into daily operations and procedures, such as team meetings, strategic plans, and celebratory “shout-outs” to folks demonstrating values in practice.
By following these steps, your team can create a cohesive, values-driven work environment that enhances the individual and collective performance of all. Remember to regularly review and reflect on your alignment with these values to ensure they remain a living part of your team's culture.
Enhance Your Organization’s Collective Values with Expert Facilitation
Engaging a facilitator can significantly aid in the identification and integration of team and collective values. As an experienced professional learning and strategic planning consultant, I can guide your team through this crucial process. Together, we will ensure that your collective values are clearly defined and actively embodied each day, helping you achieve your goals and create the impact you aspire to see.
Are you interested in learning more about how I can support your team or organization? Contact me below or visit my Services page for more information.
Reflect & Act
Personifying Values: In what ways do you personify your core values? What do they look like, sound like, and feel like when you are living in alignment with them?
Partner Up: Discuss your core values with a partner, friend, or colleague. Describe why they are so important to you and give examples of how they are evident in your day-to-day activities.
Weekly Alignment: Reflect on how you will personify your core values over the next week. Are there areas where you can improve? How?
Personal Perspective: My Core Values… as of Today
Reflecting on my core values helps me stay grounded and intentional with my actions. Core values can change over time, so reflecting on them every 6 to 12 months is useful. Here are my (current) core values and how they manifest in my life:
Humor: If you know me, you know I love to laugh. While I take my work to serve educators, leaders, and students very seriously, I never take myself too seriously. I believe in the power of laughter and joy. It helps me stay positive and resilient, even in challenging times.
Learning: I am committed to continuous growth and improvement. This value drives my passion for education and professional development and is why I started Rise and Align Consulting. My home office is consistently “messy” with new books, articles, and open computer tabs of relevant research, data, and new learning material to improve my practices.
Evidence: Making informed decisions based on data and research is necessary to make my school psychologist’s heart happy. This value ensures that my actions - and those I encourage others to take - are effective and impactful. My mentor and major professor, Dr. George Batche, often quoted statistician W. Edwards Deming emphatically, saying, “In God we trust. All others must bring data.”
Family: My family, friends, and close colleagues are my anchor. They fill me with love, support, and a sense of purpose. I consult them on major decisions, and they do so with me. I still talk to my dad every day and am grateful to be able to do so.