Values. We all have them – as individuals, leaders and organizations. But do they really affect the way we act?
We recently refined our value statement at Marco. Like many companies, we had a series of “We believe…” statements about trust, integrity and service. They were all good, but certainly not unique. Because of this, I often questioned if they really affected anyone’s behavior.
I really had not given the communication of our values much thought until Ann McCann, a sales manager and leader in our organization, raised the question after we attended a leadership luncheon. She asked me if I felt our employees were all on the same page with our company values. Good question. This prompted me to initiate the development of a new value statement for Marco.
As we began working on our statement, I saw a friend’s Facebook post with a picture of this quote: “Your beliefs don’t make you a better person. Your behavior does.” It reminded me that actions speak louder than words.
So, with a team of our leaders I discussed how important it is that our behavior matches our values. If we act differently, then maybe we don’t actually believe what we’re saying. Sharing and upholding values have certainly become more challenging as our company has grown, but it is no less important. Even though we all have our own individual values, my expectation is that the actions of our employees reflect the values of Marco.
We wanted our value statement to be a simple sentence that our employees could remember. So here it is: “We will act in a manner that demonstrates our commitment to doing what is right for our employees, customers, vendors and communities.”
I feel the most important word in this statement is “act.” Our actions are what will communicate our values more than any poster we hang on our wall or words we post on our website.
Here’s why I believe actions are so important:
- How we act builds a track record.
We’re judged every day by how we handle situations. Our track record of behavior over time is what people use to determine our character. Our actions can validate or quickly discredit any stated values. It’s one thing to say we believe something, it’s another thing to demonstrate it. - Our actions are demonstrated thousands of times a day.
With over 800 employees interacting with customers, vendors and colleagues daily, our individual actions become a reflection of Marco. For example, we receive over 25,000 inbound calls each month. Each touch point is an opportunity for employees to present a positive image of themselves and our company. - Moments of truth matter.
For those of you that have been around awhile, you’re probably familiar with this phrase. There are some moments more than others when our values are put to the test. The greatest moments of truth are when things don’t go as intended. This is when a relationship is judged and you need to act accordingly. This is why we are so dedicated to getting performance feedback from our clients. Some of our best references are customers that we have proactively resolved issues with. How we demonstrate our values during these “moments of truth” determines whether we get to keep them as a customer.
Much like a vision or mission statement, our stated values mean nothing if our actions don’t reflect them. If we do our jobs right, our customers, vendors and communities will recognize our values without ever reading them on our wall or website.
Ann, thanks again for reminding us that we can’t lose sight of our values.
