ARE YOU DRIVEN BY YOUR CORE VALUES?

Ihave a confession to make. If you had asked me the meaning of core values in 2010, I would have drawn a blank and asked you to clarify. It was only in 2014, when I joined an organisation called Toastmasters International to develop my leadership, communication and public speaking skills, did I come across the concept of core values.

Toastmasters is a unique global organisation and its mainly driven by the concept of service leadership in which individuals volunteer their time to lead and help others become better communicators and leaders. Present in over 100 countries which are broken up into regions and districts, leaders at all levels actively practice the 4 core values of Toastmasters every single day during club meetings and events all over the world.

Their 4 core values are INTEGRITY, RESPECT, SERVICE AND EXCELLENCE. These values go to the very heart of the Toastmasters spirit in which every member acts with the utmost integrity in their daily actions during club meetings, respects fellow members from all cultures, ages and backgrounds, offers their services and expertise to help fellow members develop their leadership and communication skills and in their actions and behaviour, strive to do their personal best and reach the pinnacle of excellence.

Which brings me to a fundamental question – What exactly are core values and how do we develop them? While

this question may have many answers, here is what I think - As social human beings, we are all guided by a set of values. We first learn of these values from our parents as children and the meaning of these values becomes clearer to us as we start to go to school and start interacting with others in our extended family as well as society. Two values we learn from a young age are honesty and trust as our parents teach us to be honest with them and to trust them to make the best decisions for us as children. These two values are extended to our teachers when we go to school.

As we grow older and get more exposed to society, we start to see the behaviour of others and learn about other values like leadership and humility. Very soon we find ourselves attracted to some of these values and in a very unconscious manner, we start to behave in a similar fashion as we adapt these values for ourselves. By the time we become adults, we have invisibly developed a set of core values for ourselves. These core values not only represent our deepest beliefs and our highest priorities, but they are responsible for our fundamental behaviour. For example, if honesty is one of your core values, you will never lie and will always speak the truth no matter what the circumstances and the consequence.

To demonstrate the importance of core values and how it leads to company and brand success, let me share with you the core values of some of the top brands in the world today.

APPLE – Steve Jobs set out these values in 1981 and they still stand a great guide for what the company stands for today. A. One person, one computer. B. We are going for it and we will set aggressive goals. C. We are all on the adventure together. D. We build products we believe in. E. We are here to make a positive difference in society, as well as make a profit. F. Each person is important, each has the opportunity and the obligation to make a difference. G. We are all in it together, win or lose. H. We are enthusiastic. I. We are creative, we set the pace. J. We want everyone to enjoy the adventure we are on together. K. We care about what we do. L. We want to create an environment in which Apple values flourish.

GOOGLE – Their core values are mentioned on their philosophy page and are as follows. A. Focus on the user and all else will follow. B. It’s best to do one thing really, really well. C. Fast is better than slow. D. Democracy on the web works. E. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer. F. You can make money without doing evil. G. There’s always more information out there. H. The need for information crosses all borders. I. You can be serious without a suit. J. Great just isn’t good enough.

COCA-COLA – Their core values act as a guiding compass for the company’s actions and they also describe how their employees act around the world. A. Leadership: The courage to shape a better future. B. Collaboration: Leverage collective genius. C. Integrity: Be real. D. Accountability: If it is to be, it’s up to me. E. Passion: Committed in heart and mind. F. Diversity: As inclusive as our brands. G. Quality: What we do we do well.

This brings me to the next question – How do you choose the core values for your organisation? A good place to start would be reflecting on your own core values as a business owner. Some of the most common core values we all have are Integrity, Honesty, Trust, Accountability, Commitment to serving customers, Leadership, Empowerment, Teamwork, Innovation, Promoting Diversity and promoting ownership amongst employees. Ideally, one should focus on a maximum number of 4 to 6 core values as having a longer list makes it harder for employees to adapt and practice in their daily actions. Remember that these core values become the identity of your organisation and is reflected in the actions of all your employees towards your customers as well as your suppliers.

A final word of caution. If you present a set of core values to the world and ask your employees to follow them, then you must stick by them no matter what the circumstances. If your actions as a founder as well as the actions of your senior management team are in contradiction to your core values, it can cause a lot of damage to the reputation of your organisation as well as negatively affect your relationship with your customers. It will also harm the internal relationships between you and your employees as they will stop trusting you which will only lead to demotivation and a toxic work environment. Hence it is important to carefully choose your core values as they are the key to your success and the success of your organisation.

Successful business owners know the importance of developing and practicing a set of core values which attracts great employees who share the same values. This leads to strong workplace motivation and employee engagement as employees practice these values in their everyday actions and promote a happy and positive work culture. I wish you the best in choosing your own set of core values and practicing them along with your employees to make your organisation a great success.

Rajula is an entrepreneur, international business coach and newspaper columnist with the OHerald in Goa, India. He has an extensive background in business development and marketing and in his spare time like to cook and travel.