How to Reduce Workplace Conflict with Shared Values.

Sarah was a key player in my team, but she had become unpopular, demonstrating a lack of feeling towards others in moments of truth that required caring and sharing. The team was in conflict, stressed and unhappy.

I realized that her behavior had strayed from one of our agreed values—empathy, and it was time to provide some coaching for Sarah.

Values are so critical to business success. They are like signposts, pointing the way for you and your team. They direct our attitudes, behavior, and the actions we take, affecting service delivery, sales and the bottom line.

Why are values a foundation stone of success?

The answer lies in the way our brains operate. When you choose a value important for your business, it becomes a model for you and your team to follow, and models wire your brain for success. It is The Sixth Key to Wiring Your Brain for Success in action!

What happens inside your brain to make this work? When you chose a value, your brain wires in new brain cell connections to flag the value as important. Thousands of connections create a new network, facilitating and influencing beliefs, behaviors, and the actions you and your team take. The very thought of the value becomes a key driver.

Let us use an example: say your team chooses empathy as a value for your business. Every time an issue arises which requires empathy, the “empathy network” in your brain fires up and messages you, “Hey, this is important.” You realize values are at stake, as I did with Sarah, and act accordingly. Your team models your behavior and acts with empathy too.

There are some important points to make:

From the outset, involve your team in selecting business values. About six is the ideal number. Then recruit and coach your team around them.

Your own behavior must be consistent with your chosen values. There is nothing quite like “saying one thing then doing another” to wreck team morale.

Your business should be a perfect reflection of its core values.

With alignment, values act as signposts to guide your team, driving business success.

Back to the subject of this post. Why does a set of values relieve your stress? You can generate decisions on the run. You easily decide what is important. You know when to make a stand. Your sense of control expands. Leadership becomes easier, your team more united, your client or customer service more consistent, and that means less stress!

If the team chooses “fun” as a value, then when appropriate, work itself becomes fun, and with greater fun, less stress!

Empathy and fun are two of my business values. What are yours?

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