Core Values – 1. Introduction

This is the first of a series of 8 posts looking in more detail at the importance of core values to guide the way we work:

Over recent years, I have become more conscious of the underlying drivers to the way that I work. For example, when making complex decisions where there is no right answer – what are the factors that determine which decision I will take? How do I decide which work to do and which to let go?

One thing has become really clear – the key driver is not money. Even when I had a young family to support, it was difficult to make decisions about jobs and career based just on who paid the most.

The target of fulfillment, or as Jung might label it, self-actualisation – is driven by something deeper.

A couple of years ago, keen to identify the impact our work was having, I commissioned an Impact Project which was carried out by two people, Nick and Sue, who developed an approach which based on a series of stakeholder interviews, underpinned by data and outputs. It was the founding work that has led to the thinking in Beyond Measurement which I mentioned in the last post on this blog.

One of the really interesting things to emerge from the work came from a series of interviews which Nick and Sue did with core members of the team. I spent three afternoons exploring with them what the key features were which were leading to successful programmes of work, and what some of the factors were that were creating work that was not productive.

Through these discussions we developed a framework together. Within the framework were key values. Sue and Nick identified 6 of them. They were:

• Altruism
• Integrity
• Co-creation
• Inclusivity
• Humility
• Optimism

We explored these in some depth. Since that work was carried out, these values have really helped me to articulate the drivers in the work that I do. They were revisited again in the second impact report, where there was an opportunity to sense-check them through the massive organisational change we had experienced.

Then, last year, as I put together a new team to take the work forward – we had a further session looking at what these values meant for us all. It was a session which really helped to bring us together as a team.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will write a short piece about each of these core values, to look at what the value means and how it manifests in the workplace. I hope these posts are helpful. Do feel free to give feedback.