The HOW Is Just As Important As The WHAT

The business world really caters to “Type A” people.  In most organizations I've worked for, the role models tend to be analytical, critical thinking, and driven folks - and generally Type A people.  Wikipedia (yes, I’m referencing Wikipedia, go ahead and laugh) defines Type A personality as individuals regarded as ambitious, rigidly organized, highly status conscious, sensitive, truthful, impatient, always trying to help others, taking on more than they can handle, want other people to get to the point, proactive, and obsessed with time management. People with Type A personalities are often high-achieving "workaholics" who multi-task, push themselves with deadlines, and hate both delays and ambivalence.  I tend to be a little “Type A” myself, and the proverbial message I've gotten from the various organizations I've worked for, is that they this is probably a good thing.  All of the individuals at the top fit this mold to a tee.  Additionally, since I work with managers throughout our appraisal process, I know that managers recognize and reward these traits.  The problem with being “Type A” is that the focus on the end result can sometime mean tunnel vision.  That’s a problem, because when the focus is so strong on the end result, we tend to overlook how we get there, and often crush people in our path or compromise our principles.  That’s why my organization took a stand when it came to our values.  While my opinion may be biased, hear me out.  The values are more than words on a page, or things we hope our employees take to heart.  They take a stand and say that it’s not only what we accomplish…it’s how we accomplish it that matters.  This is why the exhibition of our values is equally weighted with meeting individual and organizational goals on the annual appraisals.  

I've experienced the difference this makes first hand.  In my previous role, the organization had strong principles that were reiterated regularly during orientations and trainings and even by managers and top leaders.  The problem was that they did not take a stand, or provide guidance to employees on the expectations of the organization when it came to values.  Those core principles were:

• Be honest & respectful
• Be fun
• Be frugal
• Be friendly
• Be creative
• Be healthy 

Now, don’t get me wrong.  These are good and important goals, and things I personally strive for still to this day.  However, in my current organization, we argue that honesty and integrity are “tickets to play”, meaning that they are a minimum expectation of all employees.  They are part of our Code of Conduct, and reiterated to employees on their first day.  The other principles sound good as you read them, but how do you know if you are meeting, or even exceeding expectations when it comes to the exhibition of these?  Fun, frugality, friendliness, creativity and healthiness can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.  Beyond a lack of guidance, it was clear that they were not meant to tell employees how they were expected to act.  The result was that the organization generally met its goals, but not because employees were always working together, or creatively to reach the goal.  There tended to be some “throwing under the bus” situations on a basis more frequent than anyone would prefer, mostly because the organization valued “Type A”, but there were not enough guiding principles on how goals would be achieved and how individuals would work together.  A culture without strong values that people are held accountable to unfortunately also means that trust is not an inherent part of that culture.

Please don’t misunderstand - I’m not saying this approach is wrong.  All I’m saying is that as someone who has been both part of the organization, as well as a bearer of the “core principles” message, I prefer values that better translate into action, and that take a stand to say the HOW is just as important as the WHAT.  The values are not "tickets to play", but rather, they are differentiators.

A sample Values grid.

In my current organization, we went through a process to redefine the organizational values by conducting focus groups representing all departments and functions within the organization.  After gathering focus group data, we pulled together representatives from all departments to form the “Values Committee”, a cross functional team responsible for resetting the course when it came to organizational values.  Prior to working on the task, all committee members read Harry Kraemer’s “From Values to Action”.  If you've not read this book, you should pick it up – it’s a quick read.  This group organized the data, looked for patterns, and developed the values based on the information we heard from our people.  To make sense of all the data, they grouped some of the ideas into “themes” under each value.  They then went on to define, as a group, what meeting expectations looks like, exceeding expectations looks like, and development needed looks like for each theme within each value.  I like this because there are not too many questions about the “subjectivity” of our values.  Granted, the definitions are generic enough to transcend departments and roles, but they’re precise enough to let you know where you stand.  Our values are:

• Inclusive
• Critical Thinker
• Service-Focused
• Innovative
• Initiative

My Values Card that I
keep at my desk.

There are not too many surprises at appraisal time, and not too many disagreements.  If a manager or employee begins to define the value in their own way based on their own philosophies or experiences, it’s easy to bring them back to the definition that the organization agrees upon.  It has also been simpler to hold people accountable to exhibiting the values since they are reviewed on how well they do so at least once per year during their appraisal.

I come across the occasional person who disagrees, and places more weight or value on job performance, rather than exhibiting strong values.  However, I’m a firm believer that if you have a goal, or want something, find people who have reached that goal, or done that thing successfully, and emulate them (i.e. if you want to be rich, handle money the way rich people do).  All of the experienced leaders that people respect and actually like working for, believe that values are equally important to being a high performer, so that’s the model I plan to continue to subscribe to.  For now, I'll embrace my "Type A-ness", so long as I don't lose sight of the fact that the HOW is just as important as the WHAT.