I wish the above statement was easily dismissible and that we as humans effortlessly practiced our core beliefs. I wish that once core values were stated, that behaviour naturally followed – especially when under pressure.
But this is not my experience; whether I talk as a witness of my own life or of others. Simply knowing what’s important doesn’t mean it comes naturally or easily. It’s one thing to say we believe something, It’s another to act in alignment with that belief.
A cruel experiment
In 1973, social psychologists John Darley and Daniel Batson conducted an experiment at Princeton Theological Seminary Collage. In this well know experiment, 67 seminary students were asked to deliver a sermon on the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The students were randomly assigned to one of two conditions, a hurried condition and an unhurried condition. In the hurried condition the student, upon meeting a host, was presented with these words, “Oh, you’re late. They were expecting you a few minutes ago. You better get moving.”
In the unhurried condition, the host gave these instructions, “It’ll be a few minutes before they’re ready for you, but you might as well head on over.” Each student walked alone to the building where they would deliver their sermon. On the way, the student encountered a man slumped in a doorway with his eyes closed, coughing and moaning, clearly in distress. What do you think happened?
Naming your values does not make them happen
I have been privileged to have worked with many great organisations. I have witnessed some exceptional work done in the domain of defining corporate culture.
Some organisations go to great expense to craft their culture, making it tangible and clearly communicated. They create visual material, do expansive road shows, and rev people up to live into these values.
But telling people something is a value of yours does not mean that people know how to demonstrate it. This is where exceptional work falls short over and over again. And when values are not accompanied with the means and clarity around how to demonstrate them, they become a tool for cynicism and judgment.
We have to go deep
When we agree to values that are not aligned to the underlying assumptions that drive the business, the value will face resistance. For example, if an underlying assumption of an organisation is one of ‘people can’t be trusted,’ then a value of collaboration is likely to receive shallow endorsement, no matter how good the poster.
Collaboration by nature sees value in another. Collaboration relies on a core belief that we are stronger because of each other. Collaboration flows from a place of trust. The work needed here is the hard work of changing mindset. And this requires a plan with much focused effort.
When a business names a value I like to ask, ‘what are the core beliefs or underlying assumptions that enable this value to thrive here?’ When the core belief is not supportive of the value, the outcome is likely to be lip service or ticking the box responses rather than the value in action.
We have to give it muscle
Our values and principles need a bit of sustenance; some well-developed, foundational pillars that guide us towards an aligned response. Some questions I ask organisations are:
What is the language of this value?
Strong culture creates language that lives in the meeting rooms of organisations.
What are the learnable skills?
All values have learnable skills, and because there are learnable skills, the application of the value becomes choice.
What are the resources and tools?
Most values have simple tools, structures and models people can use. Like any home improvement job, it becomes easier when you have the right tools at your disposal.
What does the value look like in action?
In other words, how do we know when we are doing this well? Sometimes, it isn’t motivation people lack – it’s clarity.
What are the stories and rituals around the value?
Values need emotions and reminders. They are grounded in a web of stories that give evidence to why the value is important, and simple rituals that daily remind us of who we are and who we are becoming.
Some of my most enjoyable work over the past few years have been grounded in the above questions and the muscle they provide to the ‘value skeleton’.
It's not what we believe in. It's what we care about
I know, I’m probably overdoing it; but let’s go to one more example. Vivek Murthy, the Surgeon General of the United States of America, shared in his book ‘Together’ that what matters is not what we believe, but what we care about.
96% of parents in one American survey, view the development of moral character in their children as important, rating honesty and loving and dependable as high.
The problem is, most parents and students care more about results and achievement. And when achievement and kindness are at odds with each other, we soon see what we care about, and what our core beliefs and underlying assumptions.
Here, we may confidently profess moral character, but when under pressure, the lure of status and achievement will trump any act of kindness to support another.
Back to Princeton’s Experiment…
And so, it’s no surprise that the hurried students ignored the man in distress, with only 10% of this group stopping to help him. When we’re under pressure, our principles get lost.
Knowing our principles does not mean we know how to live into them. They did better when they were not rushed – 63% of the unhurried group helped.
Much better, yet let’s remember these are guys who are about to preach about help. Before I get accused of judging, I recognise that I could have been one of those 37% unrushed guys that didn’t stop.
The good news
To show up in life the way that we want to is very possible. But we need to do the work. We need to focus on our mindsets so that they support our behaviour. Likewise, we need to enable our resolve through practicalities like skills and resources, both of which are attainable and accessible.
We can be who we aspire to be. All around us, all the time, people demonstrate this. Likewise, Corporates need to recognise that defining and naming is the starting point of good culture.
Take this deeper and give it muscle. When you do, your culture can and will become your ways of being and doing.
