Category: Core Values

Virtuous Blending

Individual Values and the Organization

Our guest blogger, Scott Vandeventer, is Founder of Empathic Inc, an executive coaching firm and a collaborator with enLumen on leadership training projects.blending values

Every organization is strengthened or weakened to the degree a common set of values are held mutually by its participants.  Values are the rails on which an organization runs.  The same is true for individuals.

All of us are keepers of a set of values – from the infant to the eldest.  They are our own.  There’s one primary way we recognize those values in ourselves and in others:  Behaviors. Continue reading Virtuous Blending

The Challenge of Changing Culture (Pt. 2)

Why does Culture Matter?

In Part 1, I described the three levels of culture as defined by Dr. Edgar Schein.  Now let’s look at why culture is important and some tips on how you can change it.Changing Culture

A strong, healthy culture can put even a mediocre strategy on steroids.  But it can prevent even the greatest strategy from gaining any traction.  We ignore culture to our own peril or we can leverage it for great benefit. Continue reading The Challenge of Changing Culture (Pt. 2)

The Challenge of Changing Culture (Pt. 1)

I once had responsibility for a large technology project that never delivered on its objectives. We had a team of highly skilled people with a great track record of successful projects.  They used processes that had succeeded repeatedly in the past.  But we never got the traction to make this project take off.

Culture ChangeThe reason, I believe, lies in an unintentional shift that had occurred in the organization’s culture.  That change sucked the energy, passion, and motivation from this highly competent team. They had always been passionate to succeed but now they were just trying to get a job done. Continue reading The Challenge of Changing Culture (Pt. 1)

Getting Good Decisions

Because You Can’t Train for Everything

Jeff had been through new employee orientation. His resume was stellar. He had completed the in-house job training with flying colors. His first nine Confusedmonths on the job showed great potential. So how could he have made such a boneheaded decision that put the organization’s reputation on the line with a major stakeholder!

What would you do to avoid a repeat of Jeff’s scenario? Continue reading Getting Good Decisions

Identifying What Matters Most

Clarifying Values

“Values” is a buzzword that risks being abused into oblivion. But despite the hype, clarity about what’s important to us is a powerful lever for making us more successful according to our own definition of success.

Whether we’re conscious of them or not, our values (organizational and personal) define our behavior. One of the reasons “values” gets a bad rap is that organizations and individuals often claim values that aren’t reflected in their actions. Don’t tell me you value honesty while describing the neat trick you found for cheating on your taxes. Continue reading Identifying What Matters Most

Defining How We Treat Each Other

But Don’t Say It Unless You’ll Live It…

I consider the most important values of an organization to be those that define how we treat each other.  Here’s an example of such values that I developed with one of my clients. How we treat each otherPerhaps there are some useful points here that you can adopt (or adapt), but be careful:  Never claim a value as your own unless you’re willing to live every word of it.  Don’t destroy your credibility by saying something’s important that you’re not willing to be held accountable to.
 Continue reading Defining How We Treat Each Other

When “Excellent” Isn’t

Why “Excellence in Everything” Produces Excellence in Nothing

Like most people, I’m a fan of excellence. But when everything gets labelled “excellent”, rolls-royce-526054__180we devalue the word to where it doesn’t really mean anything. And it certainly doesn’t create the motivation we’re trying to inspire when we use it in our mission, vision, and value statements.

The problem is that no one can be excellent at everything. Continue reading When “Excellent” Isn’t

Success From the Start

Leveraging Your Personal Values

Andrew CROPOur guest blogger, Andrew, is currently serving as an intern at enLumen Leadership Services.  Andrew wrote this article about his older brother, Timothy, who continually inspires Andrew toward excellence as he pursues his career in the music industry.

Timothy was nineteen when he landed the job in Community Care, a public relations branch at Action Property Management Company. Typical kid, typical entry-level job. What set Timothy apart were the values behind his work ethic. Timothy is the sort of person who will not rest until he has done the best, most efficient job possible. From day one, he demonstrated this through his tireless pursuit of excellence at Action. Continue reading Success From the Start

Future-Focused Leadership

Tapping Into the Values of a New Generation

By some definitions, Adolf Hitler was a leader.  So were Joseph Stalin and Pol Pot.  Leading PeopleBut would you have chosen to follow them?

The most fundamental characteristic of a leader is the presence of followers.  You might be a manager or an entrepreneur, but until you have followers, you’re not leading. Continue reading Future-Focused Leadership