Purpose and Values

1.    Values are valuable

I often say that passion is like the fuel for the car, while purpose is the direction the vehicle is going towards. Values, if you like, are like a compass that shows us the way. Each person and organisation have some core values that guide our actions, even if we are unaware of them. Values are motivational and aspirational goals assisting in defining who we are and what is important to us across life stages and situations. They can act as the litmus test for our actions being right or wrong, making decisions, and resolving dilemmas. Of course, our values can help us determine what we care about (passion) and what difference we want to make (impact), and we can tie them to find our reason for being (purpose).

As beautifully said by Gandhi, our actions and habits become our values and our values become our destiny. On the other hand, values determine actions, too. For values to serve our purpose journey, we need to understand, identify, and enact them.

2.    Values make us who we are – as a nation, organisation, and person

Professor Shalom Schwartz from the Hebrew University identified the ten most common values of people, companies, and nations, helping to differentiate cultures and individuals by their values sets. His Basic Human Values Model places ten values on two dimensions: self-transcendence (benevolence, universalism) versus self-enhancement (hedonism, power, achievement), and openness-to-change (stimulation, self-direction) versus conservation (tradition, conformity, security). We’re each a blend of these values at different weightings, and as you can see, some of them are contradictory, but they’re a useful tool for thinking about what truly matters to us.

Research shows that employees and companies tend to create more positive impact around them if their core values are benevolence (preserving and enhancing the welfare of people we care about) and universalism (feeling one with humanity and protecting the welfare of all people and nature). Individuals with such values will seek to work for purpose-driven organisations and to make a difference in the world. Companies with such values (when genuine) will act more holistically on their social responsibility and impact.

3.    From aspiration to action

In a Harvard Business Review article from 2002, Patrick Lencioni warned us strongly against using meaningless values:

Take a look at this list of corporate values: Communication. Respect. Integrity. Excellence. They sound pretty good, don’t they? Strong, concise, meaningful. Maybe they even resemble your own company’s values, the ones you spent so much time writing, debating, and revising. If so, you should be nervous. These are the corporate values of Enron, as stated in the company’s 2000 annual report. And as events have shown, they’re not meaningful; they’re meaningless.

Many companies use these values: integrity (over 70 per cent of companies list it as a core value), excellence, success, respect, doing the right thing, and customers first. As if anyone doesn’t want to be honest and successful. Often, no actions are tied to these, particularly on impact, so values devalue over time and lose meaning. People don’t usually trust corporate values to be genuine and acted upon. Do you?

As such, to align values with purpose, you must first consider your values and list them. In organisations, this should be done with employees and other stakeholders involved. Don’t hire someone to tell you your values – consider your why, purpose, history, and story to capture your existing and aspired values. I like the ones that stand out. For example, Atlassian, the Australian software giant, has five core values, including “Don’t F%$# the Customer” and “Open company, no BS”. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of working with TROY LABORATORIES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD on its purpose. Their very Aussie core values include “Fair Dinkum” (fairness and integrity), “Own it – Fix it” (responsibility and accountability), and "Have a Go" (innovation). These are values people can remember and act on.

The most critical element here is to enact these values and apply them to the individual or organisational ability to create a positive impact. For example, Atlassian's core values were used to discuss sustainability matters. In 2019, Mike Cannon-Brookes wrote an article about climate action entitled “Don’t F%$% the Planet”, encouraging its employees to march for Earth. Today, the company has a full report on sustainability and impact with the same title. In my work with Troy and other organisations, we work with stakeholders to imagine how values can be tied for impact. "Have a Go" can be translated to - help to solve societal and envrimental issues through social intrapreneurship.

Several imperative steps can lead to full purpose alignment in the workplace:

1.    Employees fully know and list their own values.

2.    Employers create meaningful and enacted values.

3.    Employees know and engage with their employer’s values.

4.    There is a congruence between the individual and the organisational values.

5.    Everyone acts together on these values to achieve a shared purpose.