What are some strategies for aligning personal values with culture change?

This is the whole Simon Sinek question. ‘What is your Why?’. It’s easy to state your ‘What’, ‘How’ and ‘When’ but ask someone what their ‘Why’ is and 9/10 times you’ll get a fairly long pause and then waffle and apologies for not being succinct. This is a product of transactional teaching and giving of information when we are in our early careers and also our schooling. I wish I’d have known about this stuff 40 years ago.

When I lead a culture workshop in organizations, I start with a list of 10 questions (or statements to fill in) so individuals can identify their personal values. This list includes items, such as “A [peer/friend/supervisor] gave me the following compliment…” This guides the individuals to their own values & I tell them upfront that I won’t collect these sheets. Then we go through the same questions/statements for the team/organization’s values. These exercises help a great deal to get people ready to contribute. Reach out if your organization is looking to do this kind of work.

My workshop is much more detailed than simply identifying values. I educate about all aspects of human-centered culture, including psychological safety, behaviors, and we start by identifying the team’s desired end state. Culture is complex, multi-faceted, & cannot be easily measured or ever completed. It must be consciously worked & discussed. While values can be observed, they aren’t easily measured. While determination is a nice qualifier, it cannot stand alone as a value. If a team mentioned this, I’d start a discussion about how they’d witness it at work. Culture has a visible level, a less-than-visible level, & an invisible level—all overlapping & all must be tended. Whether we work on our workplace culture or not, it will emerge.

A great way to do this is to download a list of about 50 values from the internet. Start circling those that most resonate with you. Try to keep a max of 5 values that you most value. Another way is to think of people you admire. What is it that you admire about them, is it their directness, is it that they always care about others? Those might be your values.

This question brings one of the biggest misunderstandings in the history organizations -the assumption that people should allign their personal values with the organizational values. Could we think what that really means? Are we asking people to change who they are in order to work in an organization? Another way of saying this is that we ask people to be unauthentic. No wonder why most people are cynical when management starts talking about culture and values. All we need to do according to me is to have honesty around the organizational values and then ensure that we hire and promote people who are alligned. The problem is the announced organizational values are rarely representing who the organization is, and that is the real problem.

Change means opportunity. Look for ways to get involved and this will create opportunities to find points of connection between the desired changes and your personal values. It will also provide opportunities to ask clarifying questions that might help make the process more successful.

Just go to the people leading the change and ask to be informed in the next session. Make sure you understand where it´s heading and what the eventual outcomes are going to be.

To align with the new culture, thoroughly understand the cultural shift your organization is aiming to achieve. This may involve reading company memos, attending town hall meetings, or speaking with leadership about the intended changes. Guideline: Engage with management, HR, or culture change champions to gain insights into the organization's vision for the future culture.

I would say this is a great opportunity for leaders to take people on the Change journey, with a clear understanding of the Grief/Change curve, along with the key principles of leadership - Inspire, Enthuse and Motivate. Pairing these together makes Change Management 'common sense', particularly if you subsequently pair your story with the three learning styles we all generally have. So, if you are the leader of the Change, make sure you not only talk about it, but have visual aids that pain the same picture, as well as getting your people involved with leading or managing the Change themselves.

The easiest path is to first find which future company values align with your own. That is probably where you have the biggest impact. From the other values, find out what you can learn from the change initiative. Even though you might now be aligned completely, could still give you a valuable learning opportunity.

Assess the compatibility between your values and the new culture. Identify areas of alignment as well as potential discrepancies. Decide whether any of your values may need adjustment to better align with the evolving culture. Guideline: Consider which values need adaptation and create a plan for integrating them into your daily work and interactions.

This is where the leaders should shine. One key aspect of leadership is welcoming being challenged. So few do this, thinking incorrectly that what the say goes and that's the end of it. Whereas utilizing the Change as an opportunity to shine as a leader and take on the challenges with a coaching mentality allows you to empower others to find better approaches (within the boundaries of the project) to ensure people are led and managed appropriately for the change. They might have better suggestions and makes them feel more involved whilst concurrently reducing the stress any Change brings.

Recognize that change can be emotionally challenging. Prepare yourself to manage these emotions by seeking support from mentors, counseling, or training in emotional intelligence. Guideline: Develop a coping strategy, which might include deep breathing exercises, mindfulness techniques, or discussing concerns with a trusted colleague or coach.

From a leader's perspective, this is an opportunity for you to lead from the front displaying all the 'future behaviours' you are expecting from your people. You have to 'be' the change well ahead of the people you lead, and you can do this honestly and openly describing what you have had to deal with in order to get you to that point. Others can then decide to follow suit/your guidance, or at the very least use it as an input to their own decision making about what might work best for them.

Building an alliance of the willing is one of the critical steps in Change Management. Many of the orgs I have worked with over the years has taken up the chance to create a Change Agent network...those people who are willing to help you and the project team widen the network of willing and aligned people. BUT, decenters to your Change are also key to your success. Those people that seem to be unwilling to move forward are the ones that can help ensure you have considered things in your 'blind spot/s'. Work with them closely (as your Stakeholder Analysis will have told you anyway) to help shape activities and communications so that your network includes the very people you think might detract from your intent.

Surround yourself with a supportive network of colleagues who share similar values or are supportive of the culture change. Seek mentors or peers who can provide guidance and encouragement during the transition. Guideline: Actively seek out and engage with individuals who can offer advice and emotional support. Consider joining affinity groups or employee resource groups focused on the new culture.

Regularly review your alignment with the evolving culture. Be open to revising your values and beliefs if it contributes positively to the organization's goals. Adaptability is key. Guideline: Set aside time at regular intervals to reassess your values and how well they align with the culture change. Be prepared to make necessary adjustments.

I am a bit confused by the underlying assumption or expectation of this article… Does it really suggest that we should adjust our values to circumstances??? Values are fundamental. They may evolve in the long-term, but they can’t adapt in the short term. If they do they have never been values. We can adopt our behaviors to changing circumstances, but if circumstances change to an extent that they fall outside of our values, it’s precisely the latter that should stop us continuing down that road.