Values and authenticity

Good morning, world. I hope it is sunny wherever you are, unless it is night, or you are hoping for rain.

I am participating in a discussion at work where we are hoping to drive the business side of the University with Values that are shared and committed to by all staff. This sort of activity is often embraced by management but causes eyes to roll among the staff. I'm definitely in the Management camp these days - mostly because of my extensive experience and because I can't be trusted with the systems we operate.

It is very easy to argue that these sorts of activities actually get in the way of the work, but seem from another point of view, one that has to take in the horizon as well as the day to day, these activities promote sustainability.

I was pretty sceptical when the process started, and I may have put some of my colleagues offside by disagreeing with the general sentiments. Most of the others in the review team were very happy with the process, but I felt that we needed to challenge the status quo. In my opinion, of the values we currently operate by are valid, they will still be so at the end of the process.

I don't believe in starting from scratch every time, or that our current values were fundamentally wrong. On the contrary, I think they were pretty good and I actively embraced them. But during this very process I was introduced to the concept of core vs aspirational values. I reflected on these ideas and what they meant for the current values. I realised that we had only expressed one core values, but the other two were aspirational.

This doesn't have to be a problem. It is perfectly ok to choose this - the key is that we actually make that choice.

My biggest concern is that core values need to be understood and shared. Aspirational values are great as a guide, but not achieving them is not a disaster. You can always keep trying. Core values are those that you actually live by. I think we actually have good core values but we are not sure of our is ok to express them. For example, we need to save the Uni money so that it can support more teaching and research.

This means we can't always provide the very best services, but we can provide the best service we can afford. And that is ok. Value for money is a necessary evil when it comes to research and education. Actually value for money is just a necessary evil, full stop.

So once again I will optimistically join in the conversation because I believe that, shared values are indeed the best way to ensure the sustainability of the University and produce the best graduates and research outcomes possible.

Now, don't I sound like a manager?

Thought for the day:
Working on Melbourne Cup Day sucks (I know, profound, right?)