Beyond Wordsmithing: Core Values Discussions That Drive Great Results (Facilitation Friday #49)
Effective facilitation should make it easier for organizations to determine core values or brand attributes and align their efforts with them.
Mention core values and sadly many people will immediately thinking of mind-numbing wordsmithing exercises that produced a list of words never thought of again. Effective facilitation should prevent that from happening.
Generating a list of core values is meaningless if you don’t also flesh out why the values matter, what they will look like in action, and a plan for integrating them throughout an organization’s identity and efforts.
I love to facilitate discussions that focus on designing (1) a more welcoming experience for members, volunteers, or customers and (2) workshops, conferences, and other learning experiences that accelerate community, connections, and learning.
Why? Because while every organization aspires to be welcoming, many have not fully explored and infused this desired core value and brand attribute into specific programs, products, or experiences or the individual elements of each. Helping them create greater alignment and integrity between their aspirations and actions is incredibly rewarding.
To that end, here is a three-meeting process (PDF) I used to help a nonprofit board and staff members develop a plan for creating a more welcoming member experience. My design choices were informed by their preference to not do this in one long session, a commitment to inclusive input and ongoing feedback, and a desire for participant ownership and “buy in”.
Hopefully you can adapt it for use in your organization or efforts. Note that “welcoming” could be replaced by any other value or brand attribute you wish to have more represented in your programs, services, and experiences. Think of this process as a template for you to customize for your purposes and organizational culture.
Bottom Line?
Effective facilitation should make it easier for organizations to determine core values or brand attributes and align their efforts with them. Help participants dig deeper to develop illustrative narratives about any chosen values or attributes and to identify their implications (so what?) and applications (now what?) for organizational and individual efforts.
Getting in Action
When you’ve been part of an organization in which core values consistently informed individual and group efforts, what made that possible? How might the factors you identified inform your design and facilitation of any sessions to help a group develop its core values?
In addition to the sample process outlined here, how else might a facilitator help a group develop core values and align their efforts with them?
Think about those you serve or facilitate. What metaphors, analogies, or stories might you use with them to illustrate the role core values can play for individuals and/or organizations when used appropriately?
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