As nouns, stated values become mere aspirations. As verbs, they are real-life actions. You don’t have to aspire to any expectation – you just do it. Actions speak louder than words, as they say. Treating a coworker with respect is much different than believing that treating people respectfully is important. Going the extra mile is much different than saying you’d run through a wall for your team.
Values have a funny way of coming alive when you tell stories. Not your own, mind you, but the narratives that elevate someone else doing the right thing. Share the actions you witnessed, especially those when the actor was unaware they were being observed.
Once you pay attention to the way family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and strangers move through their days and navigate their challenges, their core values become descriptions of their choices. Expectations turn into explanations. She did this because that is how her character is constructed. She fits our culture because her character happens to be aligned with our values. She chose us and we chose her.
So when you see the word on the poster or the wall, don’t just think about what it means. Think about how it can be expressed. That is where the ‘who,’ the ‘what,’ and the ‘why’ come together.
