The Value of Values Clarification -

JUST STOP THAT NAVEL GAZING

We walked in, individually, and in pairs. Like many other branches, we had interpersonal conflicts, and
many of us felt that even in with our small size, we weren't all pulling in the same direction. It just
seemed we were not on the same page of the book.

The manager, also a consultant, decided that what we needed was to share our values and beliefs, so
that a) we could better understand each other (and thus, reduce conflict), and b) we could develop a
"held-in-common" set of values and beliefs about what we did. After a brief introduction, the manager
asked us to complete a values clarification survey, that listed a number of
things on it, like honesty, teamwork, friendship. We were asked to arrange these in some priority
order...I think there were other parts to it, but can't recall. After we had completed the thing, we
went 'round the table discussing what we valued. One person had listed love as his primary value,
another teamwork, and yet, another independence. It was a jolly time.

We trusted the facilitator enough so that we didn't question the process or the purpose, but you could
see the somewhat perplexed looks on the faces of the people there. We had real problems, and here
we were talking about things so abstract that they had no relevance to our everyday life. Nobody
voiced this concern.

By the end of the day, we had discovered that we were all different. Armed with this information, we
could all now explain why someone else acted like a jerk. The next day there was some brief
discussion between employees. "What was that all about?" one person said. But, after a day or two,
we simply forgot all about it.

Sound familiar? It's becoming more common. A consultant or manager will get it in their head that
problems can be addressed through a discussion of values and beliefs of the people that work there.
Some sort of retreat is set up, and a facilitator helps people to clarify what they hold dear. The basic
premise
of the exercise is that a common set of organizational values and beliefs can be created that will guide
individual and collective behaviour. The reality is that almost nothing happens.

On the surface of it, clarifying values, beliefs and principles seems to be an effective way of getting
people on the same wavelength in terms of how the organization is to conduct itself. Unfortunately,
this process is based on some erroneous ideas about the role that values, beliefs and principles play
in
influencing human behaviour, both on an individual and collective basis.

I seems like just common sense....shouldn't it work? No, not really.

There is a single major reason why values clarification exercises don't work very well, and a number of
small ones. That major reason is:

There is very little relationship between the values and beliefs people express and what they actually
do.

This defies common sense. Of course our beliefs, values and principles influence our behaviour.
Research suggests otherwise. A number of years ago, a group of social psychologists investigated this
problem. They approached hotel owners in the southern United States, and asked them several
questions about their attitudes and beliefs regarding Afro-Americans. They consistently found that
owners expressed positive attitudes, and
did not support discrimination.

Some number of months after, the researchers arranged for Afro-Americans to go to those same
establishments and request accommodation. Overwhelmingly, they found that those very people who
professed non-discriminatory attitudes and beliefs, acted in highly discriminatory ways towards Black
customers. Often they were refused, when it was clear there were vacancies. The researchers
concluded there was little relationship about what people said they believed, and how they acted.

More recently, an experiment was conducted regarding lost wallets. Wallets with some cash, and full
identification information inside were "lost" where people could find them. The purpose was to
determine whether people would make an effort to return them to their owners. Surprisingly, about
half of the
people who found the wallets, did not return them. Presumably, most of these people would profess
that they believed in honesty.

If you take a moment to reflect, no doubt you will be able to identify recent situations where you, or a
employee has acted in a way inconsistent with what they say they believe in.

The truth is that behaviour is influenced far more by environmental variables, expected rewards and
punishments, than beliefs and values. People act according to the specific situation at the time.

The Value of Values Clarification

In general values clarification exercises don't do much. That is not to say they are totally useless.
They have a potential to increase communication, and allow people to get to know each other a bit
better. They probably won't act any different, though.

If you want to use values clarification as an organizational tool consider the following tips.

1. Don't oversell the process. The danger in using the process is that you will create an expectation
that things will change as a result of the process. When things don't change (and they usually
don't), people look to assign blame to the instigator of the process. Introduce the process as a way
of getting to know each other better, not as a means to solve all the organization's problems.
2. Always anchor, or relate the values expressed to real world problems. If a person says he/she
values honesty, or teamwork, ask him/her to explain what that would mean in terms of real-world
behaviour, for themselves and others.

3. Encourage people to identify examples where there is a gap between values, or beliefs, and
behaviour, either on an individual level, or an organizational level. Work to develop ways of doing
things that bring the behaviour in- line with the beliefs or values.

4. Remember that you are not going to alter a person's values and beliefs by talking about them.
Values clarification exercises are, at best, an pportunity to share them, not change them.

Final Note

If you want to change people's behaviours, you are far better off focusing on behaviour than values
and beliefs. The simple act of providing recognition, or other rewards for desired behaviour is going to
be far more effective in changing how work is done, than abstract discussions about values, beliefs
and attitudes