Core Values and Icebergs?

People are a lot like icebergs.

What??

Let me explain....visualize in your mind that only about 30% of an iceberg is visible above the surface of the water and the other 70% is unseen.  Now let's say that the 30% you DO actually see represents a person's behavior and the 70% under the surface shows what motivates that behavior.  Core values.

A bedrock of behavior is core values.  I talked about this in my Team Huddle on Monday and I keep thinking about it.  You can keep speaking to behaviors that you don't like, make you uncomfortable, rub you the wrong way - and they never change unless you get to the CORE of what is motivating that behavior.  Core values are what makes a person believe what they believe and then they act on WHAT they believe manifesting in their behavior.

Ever told your kids to STOP doing something a million times and they just keep going back to it again, and again, and again?  Hmmmm....maybe they are because an experience or a lesson formed a core value in them, and now it's become what they believe is proper behavior, and now...OH MY!  It's become a behavior you don't like!  Speak to the values and beliefs.  Find out WHY they are motivated to behave that way.

Do that with your team members at work as well.  Be a catalyst for creating open communication with those team members who repeat certain offenses or "no-no's" at work. Find out what their values are because that is what creates the framework for the decisions they will make.  They are the driving force behind our passions and they shape our daily actions.

Here are some good questions to ask if you need to discover someone's core values:

• "What things, if they were taken away or you couldn't do them, would make life unbearable?  What makes these things valuable to you?"
• "When making your most important decisions, what are the fundamentals you base them on?"
• "Where do you invest the best of YOU, your time, and your money?  Why?"
• 'What are the deep issues you could stand on a soap-box for?"
• "What do you take pride in?  What most excites you in life?  Why?"

Here are (4) characteristics of core values.  These will help you determine if you've actually discovered a core value after asking these questions.

1.  Values are passionate.

2.  Values are unique for everyone.

3.  Values are lived out - they are not something you just aspire to.

4.  Values are concise.

Values discovery can be a very powerful tool in helping to create a culture of self-awareness at your work place.  If you need further information or would like more questions to help you in the discovery of your core values, email me at missy@showcasenow.com and I'd be happy to shoot a few more ideas and questions your way.