Last month I was reviewing our strategic plan, which I wrote back in 2013, when I first started my new job. This was the second review and it was pleasing to see how many of the milestones we had hit. Feeling quite happy with myself and my team I reflected on how important a plan was; having a strong mission statement and operational imperatives with milestone dates in order to ensure the plan was a living working document rather than something which was left in a bottom drawer somewhere.
I then came to the page where we had agreed and defined our values and a cold chill went down my spine. Values are extremely important in any organization as they really define the organization, how it operates and most importantly an agreement of values creates a circle of trust in which everyone can operate.
I was standing alongside the sports field on the weekend watching my son play sport. I was chatting with one of the mothers who told me she had separated from her husband of 20 years who she met when she was 17. I could see in her face how 20 years of trust had being broken with one lapse of judgement. It really brought home to me the need for agreed values in order to create trust, especially in organizations in which staff change and new people need to fit in quickly.
We defined our values, as words often mean different things to different people. At our last staff meeting I assigned each person to speak on a value and what it meant to them. It was an interesting exercise and one worth doing.
The values to which we aspire are:-
We grant authority to staff to make their own decisions, to take control of their own areas of responsibility and fix what needs to be fixed. We understand that we will make mistakes but we will learn from those, grow from them and improve. We have an obligation to help our customers. No staff member will be penalized for helping a customer.
We believe in a perceived consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations and outcome. Integrity is a holistic concept, which encumbers the moral expectations of society. It is honest, reliability and responsibility alongside truth and always doing right.
We believe we should embrace different ideas, cultures and thought processes. We believe in showing due acceptance of others and treating each other with dignity and equality. We trust in our systems and processes and never circumvent them.
So often it is fear that stops us speaking out, making a phone call or perusing an opportunity. We don’t want to make fools of ourselves or fail. Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the ability to overcome the situation despite it.
So few of us have the opportunity to work in an environment which encourages freethinking. We need to have a passion for what we do. Energy is a Greek word, which is the measure of work, which can be performed by a force. We need to be an unstoppable force in achieving our goals, targets and dreams. We should and need to give our all.
The Arena has suffered reputational damage at the hands of the previous owner. We need to show openness. We need to also be open to new ideas, understand them, listen to others and present a position, which is transparent and true.
Our ability to adapt to various situations will determine our success. We need to be flexible in thought, deed and opportunity. We need to show flexibility with each other and with our customers. We need to react to situations and show the ability to respond appropriately.
I have no doubt that the need to be a value driven organization is the imperative to success and by success I mean achieving the goals outlined in our strategic plan.
I have a favorite story from Alice in Wonderland, where she is lost in the forest and walks down a path reaching a T-junction in the road. She looks up to see a Cheshire cat sitting in a tree and asks the cat which way she should go. The cat enquires where it is she is going, to which she replies, that she is lost and has no idea. The cat prophetically tells her then it doesn’t matter which road she takes. You must have a plan.
As I read through this section of the strategic plan in my review, but never thought to review the values, after the last staff meeting I asked staff to consider if these values and definitions are still true and later this week I will hear their thoughts, would love to hear yours.