Basic Values

Values-Based Working

Copyright: Andreas Sander

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The four layers of basic values

Individual valuesIt all starts with You. Who you are and what you want. What you think and what you feel. Because you know yourself best, right? Or…? We all have our own basic values. You can see these as your personal book of rules, containing your moral and ethical thinking. Our basic values function as the foundation from which our thoughts are formed, which, in turn control our actions. Our basic values also create our needs as well as supply us with the tools we require to meet our needs. The basic values are a person’s individual filter through which he/she perceives the world, and our actions are based on what we think and feel.

According to the American coach, Anthony Robbins, we have six basic human needs.•Safety. Our most basic need is to feel safe. When we experience a crisis or a trauma, we instantly fall back to this first need; we look for safety and closeness. One example of this is when a person close to us unexpectedly dies or upon receiving a fatal diagnosis. Our instinct is then to immediately seek the closeness of friends and family to experience safety and stability. •Uncertainty/challenge. Every now and then we need to experience a certain amount of uncertainty or challenge not to get bored. It is not about us having a need to feel the thrill of having close encounters with death, but more a need to challenge our known boundaries and limits. Remember a situation when you challenged your fears and did something you did not know you were capable of. Sure, you had a great

feeling of satisfaction afterwards! • Meaning/Significance. We all have the need to feel that there is a meaning and purpose to our life and that someone needs us. Your work, or being active in an organization, may satisfy this need as well as your

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family and/or friends. Some of us experience a strong desire to change the world while others become completely satisfied by, for example, being in charge of the equipment for your daughter’s soccer team. • Love/Belonging. Our love relationships play a very important part in our lives. One of the most horrible things a person can experience is to never be physically touched or even seen. Love has many faces and refers not only to sexual and romantic love. There is no human on Earth who does not want loving and respectful relationships with colleagues at work as well as with friends and family. • Development/Growth. To learn is to grow. Whether the knowledge is external or internal, i.e., knowledge about your surroundings or yourself as a person, it is just as important in our pursuit to experience ourselves as complete individuals. A flower that does not grow withers. Every day we learn something new, and reflection is a powerful tool when consolidating ones new knowledge and insights. •To contribute beyond oneself. The feeling of doing something for someone else can be intoxicating! Many people who are economically independent start doing charity work only because of the strong incentive to contribute to others’ welfare. Simply watching your own children grow up, becoming confident and happy individuals, probably makes you quite emotional. Sharing your knowledge and experiences with your children induces a pure feeling of happiness! By the way, Leventa and CommZone live by the motto Pay it Forward. Through helping others develop, without asking for something in return, we open up the possibility that you also will help someone else along the path. In that way, together we create a domino effect that strengthens and unites people, and which will give positive results both at work and in one’s private life.

Thus, as an individual, you have several basic needs to fulfill, and these needs you share with approximately nine billion other people. However, as you have your own unique set of basic values you perceive the world through your own filter, which in turn causes you to act in accordance with your own personal set of alternative actions and methods to be able to satisfy your most human needs. To analyze and become aware of your specific personal basic values, thus, getting to know yourself better will therefore result in the greatest of benefits!

Family Values

In most cases we meet a partner who has a filter, through which that person perceives the world, which coincides with our own. Despite the fact that both of you might consider yourselves to have your very own personal opinions and thinking, you are most probably quite similar, that is, if the relationship is good… As we all, through our lifetime, develop and grow at different paces, sometimes we may also progress in different directions. If your basic values become too differentiated, the joints will start to crack, which in turn may lead to a separation. Some couples, however, might remember the marital advices given by aunts and parents-in-law during the wedding dinner, about the importance of communication. By talking with each other and through developing and growing together, you may build your united foundation of basic values, which governs your family. That makes it so much easier, and more joyful, to raise your children together! By having a common and concordant view on, for example, how family members should behave towards each other, it becomes easier to communicate the family’s basic values to your new ”co-workers.” Sending mixed messages might, on the other hand, create uncertainty of what actually is right or wrong. Therefore, parenting is in fact the ultimate test of leadership.

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Workplace valuesYou have your work. Either you enjoy it or you do not. Most likely, you have experiences of both. Certain tasks you have had, has probably been mindlessly boring but your co-workers made you stay longer than you thought you would. Something made the good atmosphere at work prosper. Together you struggled and because you all had a good time while struggling, you produced good results. And you were most probably a contributing factor to both the good atmosphere and the good results of the company. You have probably also had jobs that seemed perfect, objectively speaking, but where the atmosphere of the workplace in the end made you feel you could not stand another day. The management was inadequate and did not listen to the employees. Mixed messages were commonplace and an encouraging pat on the shoulder was never to be seen. At this workplace, effectiveness and goal orientation were more important than the wellbeing of the employees. The dissatisfaction and mudslinging among the co-workers flourished and eventually you felt you had to get out of there before you would perish.!A third scenario is where you have a fantastic job with wonderful colleagues who create a joyful atmosphere and with a management who does everything to make everyone feel good in order for you all to be able to preform well. Congratulations! That is where we want you to be! Just do not forget that there are always small adjustments to be made in order to keep improving! After all, we are only human, and we tend to change every now and then…

Society’s valuesWe live in a world that is constantly changing. You may argue until you die that it is time or people that are changeable. No matter what, trends come and go worldwide and it is us, people, who are the trendsetters, right? If we, for a moment, allow ourselves to perceive our existence in a broader perspective, comparing the last few centuries, we may divide the different time periods in separate eras, such as the Middle ages, the age of Enlightenment, the Industrial ages, etc. These macro periods of time are defined and named afterwards by historians. However, there is nowadays an incredible report called Sverigestudien produced by Preera,Volvo IT and Skandia every year. There, the basic values of the Swedes are the subject of analysis and the result is very interesting. For

example, customer- and user satisfaction got 47th place in 2012, something worth reflecting upon…

Thus, as a population we have values, which permeates the society we live in. By becoming conscious of your surrounding, you can benefit greatly. When it’s black and white about what the average Swede appreciates and strives for, you would think that any employer would cast more than a fleeting glance at such a report and ask themselves: ”What can I do for my personnel to achieve better results?”

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All in all A society is made up of us citizens, and you are one of them. Just like us. To us, our focus is just as crystal clear as the water of a blue lagoon. We want to influence our society in becoming a more fun and humane place to live in. By being aware of who we are, we can become better partners and parents. Our family members become ambassadors, spreading the message of compassion further. As entrepreneurs we can continue to express our message of a better society through offering goods or services that create value. We take our role as employers seriously, and we create a foundation of values for our employees in which they may grow and develop. Together, we are many individuals and our values are soon to be counted on in the trends of society. For us at Levanta and CommZone, it is of utmost importance to have a higher purpose in what we do! Money is, in itself, of no interest to us if we are not proud of ourselves and of what we accomplish. Our commitment and driving force lies in the fact that you, as our client, will experience a fantastic opportunity to take part in contributing to a happier society. That profits will increase is rather a pleasant side effect than a necessary evil.

Time to build basic values of Master Class?

So, what then is the difference that makes a difference? Those companies who succeed in creating strong teams are those who have well developed values. Just like in a family, we need to recruit co-workers who have values overlapping the values of the company. As we work together creating profitability and growth, we need to have a consensus concerning communication, how to treat each other and in the vision of where we are going. The company can satisfy many of the human needs you just read about! Just think about what you got from the best job you ever had! Challenge, meaning, affiliation, and a chance for development. You can probably figure out yourself what the company parties may possibly contribute...

You will benefit greatly from reviewing and challenging the basic values of the company. Besides happier co-workers and more satisfied clients, you will obviously have higher profitability. When you think this

through, it becomes just as clear as drinking a light beer on a hot summers day by the grill. The image to the left illustrates how profitability correlates to the employees (human capital) according to TNS SIFO’s generic VOICE-model.Their studies on clients and co-workers have been conducted for more than twenty years and they have managed to map the human driving forces which leads to profitability. In the generic matrix, you see ”Employeel” on the X-axis. This is a combination of individual and organisational capacity. According to TNS SIFO, the human capital may be defined this way: ”Individual and Organizational Capabilities make up the Human Capital index. In other words, there is  strong "Human Capital" when employees are motivated, have adequate skills, have authority to act, take responsibility, collaborate efficiently, learn from

experience and can use their creativity.”

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If we take a look at the individual capacity from a perspective of profitability, motivation and competence are the most important factors. The correlation is strong at 0.65 and 0.75, respectively. Concerning the organisational capabilities, it has been shown that the most important factors are the ability to cooperate, organisational effectivity and a strong sense of commitment to the company, i.e. a belief in the company today as well as in the future. Those companies that perform best are those with competent employees, effective processes, and methods for cooperation. The correlation between organisational capacity and profitability is high (0.68-0.82).

RecruitingThe employees are an employer’s biggest asset. This is a fact that is difficult to ignore. Companies with a well developed, strong and sensible company culture, with clear values, will always be a step ahead of the competition. They communicate their values, what the company stands for, and what kind of co-workers they want to attract. According to the swedish recruitment company Poolia there is a lot of money to save to attract the right people for recruitment. A recruitment process should focus on mapping personal values to find out which people best match the organisation’s values. Our unique service CCCE, Corporate Culture Challenge Experience, focuses on the mapping and training of values and basic principles within an organisation. This facilitates the recruitment process. By making the company’s identity visible, you can match the values of candidates with those of the company, thereby recruit people who fit in well.

High performing companies have 65-75% motivated employees. Motivation in combination with competence has a strong correlation with profitability. Dedicated and knowledgeable personnel are not sufficient to achieve master class. They will also need to be aware of their full potential as well as having a common value-based goal to strive for. Many companies today have a management that has a challenge in communicating a common goal and vision to their organisation. Hence, the employees have difficulty focusing on moving the ship in the same direction. This, in turn, leads to a build-up of tension and a waste of energy within the organisation. Instead of working together to tackle challenges, individuals tend to work for themselves, towards their own personal goals. This often leads to people giving notice and going to work elsewhere. The driving force then becomes economic compensation rather than working with something you are truly interested in and good at.

Basic values & Company cultureManagers and business leaders are put to a challenge in presenting a message to their organisation about values and visions. According to Harvard Business School, these very two parameters are the foundation of a successful enterprise. An interesting study from TNS SIFO shows that 70% of employees working for Swedish companies say that the management has communicated the basic values of the company. Within that group, it is only 48% who, after ten years of employment, still believe in and live by the values of the company. The remaining employees are either passive, supportive or do not follow the values. Hence, establishing more “value ambassadors” amongst employees is a large profitability factor.

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From a business leader’s perspective, we have a solution to start working value based in two steps:1. Find out if the need exists. An inventory of existing values through talking with different people within the organisation will quickly show where employees stand today. It is important to find out what needs employees have. Who is the person behind the employee? What driving forces makes the employee come to work every day? Working only for the next pay check is rarely a successful carrot.According to a Gallup study from October 2011, there are only 29% committed co-workers in any organisation. Following is a survey of your employees’ strengths and values - an invaluable investment for you as a business leader. You will have it all down in black and white, which players you have on your team and what motivates them.

2. Make a plan of how the employees will discover, connect to and live by the organisation’s values. This is where the top manager has a huge responsibility as well as an exciting challenge ahead. To clearly communicate your values and visions is comparable to being a parent. We are usually very clear on what rules and regulations apply within the walls of the family, while also giving enough space for our children to grow and develop as strong and healthy individuals. In the workplace, the same principles should apply. Repeat, repeat and discuss the message until it is firmly established. To state, at the start of every new year, that “we do what we did last year but this year we will increase profitability by 20%” is neither inspiring nor encouraging for doing a better job. Nevertheless, this is exactly what many leaders tell their employees. Motivating your personnel is mostly about satisfying their individual needs as human beings.

Everything is tied together by common basic values for your company. What values do you have today? Have you defined any values at all or maybe you already have three keywords that are posted here and there throughout the office?

Values development is a hot topic these days and many try to invent their own ways of working with them. We all excel at different things though! This is where CommZone and Leventa come into the picture. Together, we train management teams in putting their “value cards” on the table and thereafter challenge them. Although, it is actually the team we challenge, not the cards. Words are just words, the secret lies in blowing life into these value words, give them meaning and content. It is only then, when you as a group can relate to your chosen values, that you will be able to successfully communicate them to the rest of the organisation.

Corporate Culture Challenge Experience

Leventa and CommZone work with three of the four layers of values. We analyse individual’s values, train organisations in strengthening their values, and we practice a continuous environmental analysis to stay up to date with what trends are in motion and why they are applicable to your company. CCCE creates a

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passion and understanding for your specific role in the organisation. Ambassadors, who act value driven, will step forward and a new era of leaders and followers is created.

Feasibility studyIn the feasibility study that is carried out prior to the CCCE, we conduct a survey of the current platform of the participants, using two validated tools:• Strengthsfinder ® 2.0 is a well-developed analysis method that has been around since 1998. It maps the

individual’s five signal strengths, i.e. the most noticeable strengths a person has.• Values In Action - VIA, an analysis tool that maps the individual’s personal signature values. The areas in

focus are knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, moderation, and transcendence (higher purpose).

Through the feasibility study, you receive a lot of valuable information about yourself. This will increase your self-awareness, which is, according to Salomo’s principles, an important prerequisite to succeed as a leader. We find out where you and your organisation are today, and we define a new desired state. The analyses will show the resources and strengths you already have. CCCE will train you in using these even better.

ImplementationDuring the implementation, the company team travels to Martinhal Beach Resort on the Algarve coast in

Portugal. For four days you will experience incredible things, both big and small. We have found partners in everything from surfing to cooking, and their common denominator is passion. They have a passion for what they do and a thorough understanding of our concept, our values, and our vision. These people will give you experiences that you will keep with you forever. Since our wish is for you to challenge yourself and your capabilities, some adventures you might find a bit scary. At the end of each day, we summarize how everything went, we give feedback to you about how you as a group behaved in relation to your

Salomos Principles1. Good leaders seek wisdom2. Good leaders create guiding values3. Good leaders have an inspiring vision4. Good leaders develop purposeful goals5. Good leaders think in opportunities6. Good leaders grow in adversity7. Good leaders build positive relationships8. Good leaders seek self-awareness9. Good leaders use the time wisely10. Good leaders live as they learn

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values as well as what new knowledge you have gained about yourselves. We also organize workshops with exciting presentations and group discussions. We like to start with what works. Our motto is “Find Five Rights,” not “Find Five Mistakes.” Why waste energy on things that do not work when you can use the time, instead, to strengthen those things that already work? This is not about a fear of confrontation, but instead about focusing on the right things. It is also much more fun

to improve what you are already good at! During your CCCExperience you will be living at Martinhal Beach Resort. Here, they deliver an unequalled style of living with a passion and very strong value basis. We wish to show you how all our partners allow their values to direct them in real-time. This will be a great source of inspiration for you to bring home with you.

Why Portugal?

There are a number of logical and emotional explanations for why we decided to have our CCCE on the Algarve coast in Portugal. The climate is fantastic and suitable for all our activities pretty much all year round. The best thing is that the high season for company events coincides with the low season on the

Algarve coast. Thus, we avoid the busloads of tourists and we will have a feeling that we are there all alone. The price level is another logical explanation. Portugal maintains a very acceptable price level and we get a lot for our money. However, it is the emotional values that made us fall for Portugal. People here have warmth and serenity, which is addictive. They have a dedicated customer focus that makes us feel good and at home. They do everything to ensure that we are all in awe by everything they deliver. They put heart and passion in everything they do and this fits very well with us, as we are just the same.

Portugal’s economy is weak, and we see the average person struggle to make ends meet. By placing our CCCE here, we

help them rebuild their community. It is a pleasure to pay our suppliers a reasonable fee, since what we receive is so much more than what we ever asked for. Their warmth and professionalism is a true inspiration for us as customers. You will see with your own eyes how good values and happiness can influence the customer-perceived quality.

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What do you gain from this?

Increased personal well-being has been proven* to generate benefits beyond happiness. People with high personal well-being:

• Deliver 31% higher productivity• Demonstrate 3 times higher creativity on the job• Are ten times more engaged by their jobs• Are 40% more likely to receive a promotion within a year• Generate 37% greater sales figures• Are three times more satisfied with their jobs

*The Economics of Wellbeing by Tom Rath & Jim Harter and Positive Intelligence (from the Harvard Business Review‘s January/February 2012 issue by Shawn Achor

ContactWhen you are ready to receive more detailed information on what a

Corporate Culture Challenge Experience might look like specifically for your company, we are here at your disposal for an unconditional meeting.andreas.sander@commzone.se+46 70 331 72 00CommZone on FacebookCommZone on Twitter

kinga.lundblad@leventa.se+46 70 453 09 10Leventa på mynewsdeskLeventa på FacebookLeventa på Twitter

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