HR Manager, Whirks. Striving to bring the human back to HR.
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Are you one of the nearly 700 million worldwide subscribers to a video streaming platform? Maybe you are one of the 1.1 billion who threw away their broken umbrella last year. I am. Actually, I am a member of both groups, and I've realized that the crucial element they have in common is also what is crucial to helping leaders lead: their foundation.
Movies
I love movies. Whether it has aliens, heroes, cartoons or clowns (well, maybe not so many clowns), I’ll sit down and watch it. I enjoy getting engrossed in a story. Throw in some adversity and a climactic ending where the good side typically comes out on top, add some romance, some fighting and some blood, and I’m good. But the movies I really love are the ones where the characters have a great backstory. They start with a great base and allow us to travel with them, to discover what they are made of and why they do the things that they do. The Covid-19 pandemic took away the ability to get my movie fix, but it occurred to me that I get to go to the movies every day — and my theater is life.
My current life is packed with all things family, friends and my current job. I have the privilege to talk and help people all day, from all walks of life, and because I am pro-social, I love my job. I enjoy it, not because I get to hear my own voice, but because I get to satisfy my backstory requirement. I have a genuine desire, solidified by my history in the military, to find out who you are and what makes you stand out. In the military, your first question when meeting someone new was never “What you do?” It was always intended to dig a little deeper. It does not matter what you do for a living; I want to know where you came from and how you got here. I am looking for signs of what defines you, centers you and keeps you going. I am searching for your character and values.
Umbrellas
We have an image that we use at my company that helps clarify our “why.” It is a picture of an umbrella. I’m not really an umbrella guy, it’s just not me. But as a father who’s responsible for getting the kids inside during a torrential rainstorm, I appreciate the fact that my amazing wife tends to keep one in the van.
We can all agree that vision and culture are important ideals to hold and uphold as a company, but what happens when those promises are being supported by a weak or broken system? The same thing that happened to me the time I grabbed my family-size umbrella, opened it and had it collapse on my head. After inspecting it, I realized that the small rods holding the fabric open (which are called “ribs”) were broken. The character of my rain shield was compromised, and it could not perform the job it was designed to accomplish.
Core values are widely regarded as the tenets that “support the vision, shape the culture and reflect what a company values. They are the essence of the company’s identity – the principles, beliefs or philosophy of values. “While buzz words like vision, mission and goals often come to mind, it’s essential that leaders not forget about the rib cage — which in human anatomy is designed to protect the heart and lungs. Your company may have a heart and a loud voice, but if its ribs are not strong and its core values not entrenched, then it’s only a matter of time before the storms are too much to bear and you are left standing, soaking wet, looking up at a broken umbrella.
Values ground us, center us and inspire us to be better. Where are the common core values that the business world can depend on and rely on? Why don’t we have a foundation built from a common understanding that no matter the industry, position or revenue stream needed, this is the standard we all operate from and are guided by?
If I were to propose such a foundation, the values we build on would be:
• Loyalty: Believing in and devoting yourself to something or someone.
• Dignity: Having pride in name and brand.
• Respect: Treating people as they should be treated.
• Honor: Living up to the values.
• Integrity: Doing what’s right, legally and morally.
The next time you sit down to watch a movie or flip open that umbrella on a rainy day, remember how foundations are significant in movies, umbrellas and even in business. What are you built on? Are your “ribs” strong? Now is the time to recognize the way values lay the groundwork for leadership.
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