What do you really believe in?

Values neutral - is there such a thing?

A health service provider’s founder (disclaimer: not a client) recently disaffected a number of their clients and staff by refusing to ‘un-gender’ language used within the company. Some of his practitioners requested that the company start using the term ‘pregnant people’ (rather than ‘pregnant women’) to be more inclusive of trans men. The founder, let’s call him Gerard, flatly refused. He said that the company is ‘values neutral’ and will not hold any ‘political’ positions that discriminate against (or privilege) any points of view that are not ‘science-based’.

Can Gerard, as sole owner of a private business, be ‘values neutral’ on inclusive gender language?

A public health service Chair, this time one of my clients, recently raised this question in a strategy workshop: “Given that we exist to create sustainable health and wellbeing for people, shouldn’t we also do the same for the environment?” Marianne (not her real name) noted that they drive (internal combustion) cars to see clients in their homes, they use (electric, non solar) power to heat and cool their many buildings, they generate a large amount of unrecyclable medical packaging waste, and they throw out a fair amount of food from their kitchens.

Could Marianne, as Chair of a public entity, be ‘values neutral’ on environmental impact?

I believe that most organisations that are ‘for purpose’ or ‘public value’ should take a position on the following: diversity, climate change, and indigenous reconciliation — just as all boards should have a position on cyber security, organization culture, attracting and retaining talent, and fraud/ethics.

Remember that claiming to not have a view is, ultimately, expressing a view. Organisations should look outward as well as inward, and while Marianne is publicly accountable, and Gerard is not, they both have customers who will be concerned when they don’t express a position.

Question: On what issues should (and shouldn’t) your organisation be ‘values neutral’?

In 100 years

Who are these girls? And why their furrowed brows?

The year is 1911. Their names and ages, from left, are Josie (6), Bertha (6) and Sophie (10). They’re on a break from their job as oyster shuckers at a seafood cannery in Port Royal, South Carolina.

It’s an area still famous for its oysters and, at the time this photo was taken, the township still hadn’t economically recovered from the 1893 Sea Islands hurricane (about as severe as Hurricane Katrina of 2005).

When I look at this photo close-up, what I notice are the grubby clothes, and their severe life-worn expressions on those young faces. (And, I wonder, when was their hair last washed?) These girls lived lives far removed from almost any of ours today, at a time when child labour wasn’t unusual, it was simply ‘work’.

Question: What is normal today but will be horrifying to people 100 years from now?

Nimby

It’s rare that I agree with our former PM, Tony Abbott, but in a recent speech he said, “Where is the common sense? In Australia, for instance, we export coal to China and uranium to the world but refuse to use it ourselves.” Now, while we still do use coal power, we have committed to no new coal-fired plants.

But the point is this: why treat the outside world differently to what you do at home?

Recently, I worked on strategy with an aged care provider who created a detailed and compelling vision of ‘leading your best life’ for people in residential care, villages and receiving care at home. What immediately followed, though, was a profound discussion about staff: “Why aren’t we creating for our staff their best work life?”

This sentiment is backed up by a meta-study I read years ago which showed that the ONLY strong correlate of high customer satisfaction in human service industries (healthcare, aged care, disability support) was, in fact, staff satisfaction. (Yes, you read that right: customer satisfaction is NOT correlated with staff qualifications above minimum, nor years of experience, nor salary above average for the sector).

So, yes, this client’s strategy will absolutely ‘match’ what’s happening with staff ‘at home’ with what’s happening with customers ‘out in the world’.

Question: Is there a mismatch between what you do ‘at home’ vs what you ‘out in the world’? 

I genuinely do believe in feedback, so I’d be delighted if you’d do something as simple as clicking 'like' below to let me know you’ve enjoyed reading this week.

As you travel through your world this coming week, pay attention to the congruence between what people say they believe, and how those beliefs translate to their actions. I’d love to hear your views.

I’ll enjoy being with you again next Friday,

Andrew