Did you know that October the 20th is World Values Day? World Values Day is an annual campaign which aims to raise awareness about the importance of values around the world. We’re all familiar with the idea of company values. And when company values are genuinely lived throughout the organisation they are a force for good.
They communicate clearly what matters to your organisation and done well this translates into relevant behaviours. But there’s nothing worse than a company espousing values which don’t ring true with the lived experience of working for said company. There’s no quicker way to erode trust than to boldly state you value something while behaving in contradictory way. And we must not forget the role of personal values at work.
A value can be both a noun:
…the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something.
…principles or standards of behaviour; one’s judgement of what is important in life.
Or a verb:
…consider (someone or something) to be important or beneficial; have a high opinion of.
So for me, the idea of personal values is really about the meaning and purpose we seek out, and hopefully find, at work.
Extra reading
We’ve talked a lot about values, purpose and meaning at work over the years so here is a round up of some of our best blogs on the subject – happy reading!
- Six top tips to ensure your values are more than just posters on a wall
- Why we need a purpose uprising
- Five easy ways to develop your company purpose today
- Why moving from purpose to meaning will help to engage your people
- How to help people find and create meaning at work
We’d love to hear your views on values. Are there any great examples you’ve seen? Or are they not worth the paper they’re written on?
Let us know what you think, we always love to hear from you 🙂
