Every organization has core values. Statements or beliefs that guide the actions and decisions of the people involved. Sometimes these are clearly stated, other times they are a bit fuzzy. Harvard Business Review describes core values as “the deeply ingrained principles that guide all of a company’s actions.”
Leaders worth following need to develop their own core values to ensure they are intentional about their own actions.
These are the three core values I use to keep me on mission.
Be The Example
As a leader I want to adopt the Sherpa mindset. Sherpas are a people group that live in the Himalayas and help climbers summit Mt. Everest. They have to climb the mountain themselves as they are leading others up the mountain. Being the Example means developing as a leader as I develop leaders.
This value challenges me to share my struggles and failures as well as my successes. I often remind myself, “Sharing your successes creates competitors, sharing your struggles creates compatriots.” People want leaders they can relate to and actually follow as their example.
To check this value I ask myself this question
If someone else did exactly what you did today, would they be worth following?
Sharing your successes creates competitors, sharing your struggles creates compatriots.
Invest in Others
There are only two things we get to carry with us through our entire lives, the lessons we learn and the relationships we have with others. As a follower of Jesus, I believe he was the greatest leader to ever live. He spent his time investing in the lives of others, and they changed the world. By genuinely caring about and Investing in Others long lasting relationships can develop.
Investing in Others reminds me that my role is to serve people, to help them develop as leaders, and to celebrate their accomplishments. One of my greatest joys is celebrating the success of someone I have the privilege of investing in.
To check this value I ask myself this question
Who did you help succeed today?
Get a little bit better
Transformation does not happen overnight. Improvement – spiritually, physically, relationally, intellectually – happens incrementally. No one wakes up one morning and is completely physically fit, or a fantastic leader.
My desire is to be a healthy, self aware leader. But, I understand that transformation is a process. My focus is not to become completely transformed overnight, but rather to become 1% better, just a little bit better leader. And then trust those little bits will add up over time.
To check this value I ask myself this question
What did you do to grow today?
Every Day
The core values above only work if I practice them every day. So, every day, I recommit to living my day by these values. And every day I evaluate my performance. Some days I get an A+, other days I completely fail. But every day is a new chance to live my values.
Anytime I feel like taking a day off, I watch this video from an Under Armor ad campaign. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd-ZtNsNiH4
The tagline is “You are the sum of all your training.” It reminds me that if I take a day off, I am training myself to abandon my values.
To check this value I ask myself this question