Why Right Now is the Best Time to Revisit Your Core Values

When COVID-19 came, business leaders had to either introduce or elevate current practices around employee well-being, work from home, technology and more while navigating other challenges like layoffs and furloughs.

Enter a heightened attention to racial injustice. Business leaders then had to focus their attention to employee safety, mental health, hiring practices and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

While good leaders can be proactive about many things in the business world, it’s impossible to anticipate everything. Do you know what’s coming your way next? No, probably not. But can you navigate it? Absolutely.

How is it possible to address an unknown future? Revisiting your organization’s core values provides you the necessary confidence.

We believe core values align leaders, ignite confidence, unite people and elevate organizational practices. A unified purpose and core values create an environment of resiliency, and we’ll be so bold as to say that you can’t survive a pandemic, a social tragedy or whatever is coming next without values as your organization’s foundation.

It’s not too late to re-engage with your values, or to document and focus on values if it’s new to your organization. Whatever actions and behaviors have been evident over the last four months define your organization. Are you proud and energized by those observations, or will they inspire a shift in company focus and leadership? Values aren’t just words – they’re a foundation upon which your organization is built. If you haven’t seen the value or having core values yet – let us show you just how needed they are.

Your employees crave community.

Values create a connection to each other and to the organization, especially in a time where some employees are watching others exit due to furloughs or layoffs. In a time where burnout is off the charts, core values give employees a greater purpose, a sense of direction and something to believe in. Core values – leveraged right – can beat burnout. Evaluate: What actions or behaviors are creating enthusiasm and commitment in your organization?

Your strategic plan needs guidance.

Whatever plans you made (or are making) have and continue to be changed. We know that companies with strong ideals and values have stronger connections to customers. We also know that values make critical decisions feel more obvious and comfortable. Core values – front and center – can pique profitability. Evaluate: What’s uniting your people plans, processes, business relationships?

Your communications need a foundation.

If your last communication could’ve been sent to any employee at any company, take another look. Your company is special, your people are unique so make your communications count. Core values – present in every message – can boost engagement. Evaluate: What communication strategies are you employing to maintain authentic, consistent and actionable messages that are getting truly digested?

Your COVID-19 response will continue.

The coronavirus hasn’t gone anywhere. In fact, most workplaces continue to push their return to office plans to the fall or even to 2021. The need to respond as companies and company leaders will continue for months. Core values – as a checklist – can lead you to the right decisions. Evaluate: What are you relying on to guide your response?

Now is the time to reflect on what your organization has been through the last six months. What have you tried and seen work? What have you observed in your people? Bring it to life. Capture the values. Discuss them. Activate them.

Wondering how values have helped other organizations? Check out The Value of Core Values case study below.