Does your organization have stated values that define what your leadership really believes in and do they practice these values or are they just a list on the wall?
As I often told people when I worked at Disney, “what we do at Disney World does not happen by accident.” You cannot accidentally make millions and millions of people from all over the world happy, feel inspired, and leave each time they come to visit and leave with a huge desire to come back and see as soon as they can.
There are many ingredients in this recipe, and I thought that this week I would review just one for you. It is the subject of values that we continually worked on getting great at.
Do you have these values in your organization and is every employee aware of them?
Have you the leaders created a healthy trustful environment where these values can be practiced safely?
VALUES:
Honesty We deal with each other in a sincere and straightforward manner.
Integrity We act in a manner consistent with our words and beliefs.
Respect We treat others with care and consideration.
Courage We pursue our beliefs with strength and perseverance.
Openness We share information freely.
Diversity We respect, appreciate, and value everyone (RAVE).
Balance We strive for stability and vitality in our lives.
These Values are ones that people all over the world would hope to live and work under. I was proud that these were our values at Disney and I tried to practice them every single day. These values are either just a list or are reality. YOU are the ones who can ensure that they are a reality in your organization. As YOU make decisions and deal with one another, YOU need to hold these values close to your heart and cherish them and practice them. An organization without these kinds of values is not where you want to be.
Let me tell you that it is hard to be a leader.
- It is hard to behave all day long, every day.
- It is hard to be honest, especially when you need to communicate something to someone that the person may not want to hear.
- It is hard to have total integrity and to walk the talk day in and day out.
- It is hard sometimes to show respect for others when they are getting on your nerves or when they do something that you don’t understand.
- It is hard to have the courage to speak up and to do the right thing in the business world when you are afraid that it might affect your career.
- It is hard to be open and let people know your frailties and to share information.
- It is hard to always respect, appreciate, and value everyone . . . and it is really hard to find that balance between your business and personal lives.
Yes, it is hard . . . but it gets a lot easier when the leaders practice it themselves. If each leader—starting at the top—does these things, they will trickle down; and before long, they will be done throughout the organization.
Work on these things. Think about these things.
Values are the foundation that everything else gets built upon.
Without good and solid values like these that are practiced by your entire team, you can never build a house of trust. If you leave out a value or don’t practice it, the house gets a little weaker; and when you leave out one value, it is not long before you are willing to give up another one . . . and before long, you have a house that is a wreck that nobody wants to live in.
Hard, yes! Impossible, no! You can do it! Have a good weekend everyone…Lee
PS: These values are also critical in a family. Teach your children these values and to have a love of reading and they will have a very good life…Lee
Book Update:
My book Creating Magic can now be pre-ordered. Over 200 of you have already ordered it. Go to my website to order it: www.LeeCockerell.com Thanks for your support.