Values motivate, ethics constrain. Because we live in a society, we are not free to live our values any way we want. Obviously society must have some say in how we live our values. It is through dialogue with each other, around our values, that we can, hopefully, come to some agreement as to how we can or should live our values.

Before we begin this dialogue, we must firstly know what values are important to us and to those with whom we regularly come in contact. In an organisational context, the following model is a useful framework to guide this journey of values discovery (click on thumbnail to view, use browser's back button to return to the eZine - PDF versions are provided so you can print out the diagrams):

[PDF Version]

Let's walk through this model step by step. For a start, each of us has values that lie behind the choices we make, the goals we set for ourselves, and the life-style to which we aspire (click thumbnail to enlarge):

[PDF Version]

In the above diagram, people in the organisation, have their own goals, desired life-style, etc. They all have a reasonable idea as to how far along the track to attaining those aspirations they are. For the purposes of the diagram, a person at position 3-4 is said to have attained more of what they aspire to than a person at position 1-2.

Now let's look at the organisation:

[PDF Version]

Each organisation has its own values (quite often different from the values shared by many people in the organisation). As depicted in the above diagram, the organisation's values lie behind the organisation's decisions about its desired culture, targets, vision, etc. We can depict the extent to which an organisation is performing in meeting its targets, goals, etc. with arrows on the diagram: As the organisation lifts its performance from position 1-3 to position 2-4 it has moved closer to achieving its targets, etc. (i.e. it's performance level has increased).

When we overlay the last two diagrams, we get the model we started with:

Now the numbers 1, 2, 3 & 4 take on a new significance...

POSITION ONE:

This person is performing at an unsatisfactory low level in the eyes of their organisation and they have attained little in terms of their own aspirations. They are likely to be sacked or leave of their own accord.

POSITION TWO:

This person is performing well in the eyes of the organisation but is personally gaining little from the experience. They will perform well only in the short term, and are likely to be highly stressed and dissatisfied, and will probably leave or worse still, become unwell.

POSITION THREE:

A person in this position is attaining all they want in life through the organisation. The organisation on the other hand does not consider they are contributing enough. This person may require feedback, coaching developing, training or even repositioning. However, there is another possibility. The person may be on the right track, yet the organisation doesn't see it! In other words, the person may be "ahead of their time" and worth listening to.

POSITION FOUR:

This in the ideal situation. When there is a match between an individual’s key values and those of the organisation, this individual is perceived to be be contributing and is also personally attaining their desires, wants and preferences. This is the condition in which optimum fulfilment is achievable, and in most cases results in high productivity and profitability.

What position are you? 1, 2, 3 or 4?

We've set up a min-poll so you can compare yourself with others (by the way, it's a totally anonymous survey).

How do you get to Position 4? How do you create an organisation where as most people are at Position 4?

We'll answer these questions in the next Minessence eZine. If you don't want to wait, download the AVI LifeStyle Planner. It is designed to facilitate the process.