Select Page

Leadership topic - Values

We hear a lot about what they “are” but how do you really understand what to do about their value to teams and each other?

They guide our actions more than words, and yet many only have a passing understanding of what they really are. How do you discover and use them for you and your Teams?
Just below the surface of your actions, Values guide more of our work than we often know. Many will describe them as “That is who I am”… which can be helpful, but often leaves others wondering how to engage productively. What can you find out out about yourself and your Teams?

Values to guide you differently? With Weather Report’s groundbreaking Fusion, let’s explore together

The Value to engage

The Value to engage

Mar 8, 2021 | , ,

As the New Year is now entering the end of the 1st Quarter, the pace of work is picking up – both as the crisis appears to be receding, but also a normal part of each year.  Budget’s being finalized, and most of the year-end Performance Reviews completed, businesses and leaders are now making decisions on where to focus.  What projects need to be accelerated, those that may need to be slowed, and staffing that needs to shift.  Simultaneously, employees are engaged in the same decisions – is this really the place for them now… or?  And key to both is … Values. 

management Values

management Values

Mar 9, 2021 | , ,

I guess I actually DO have a nickel for every time I stood up in front of a new team, as the “New Guy” and said, “Hi, I am Mark House, and here is what I am about.”  Actually compounded over the years, it’s what allows me the freedom to do this crazy new career, helping others have THEIR speech ready for that opportunity when it comes.  And I actually stole most of mine from other great leaders along the way, who I suspect stole theirs from others.  Because managing with Values actually works… because people can normally tell what your Values are (or aren’t)… before you can.

Are partners Valuable?

Are partners Valuable?

Mar 10, 2021 | , ,

There is a point in every career where it is clear that alone, not only can the work not be accomplished, it will not be nearly as Valuable and rewarding.  For me, it was always that way.  In High School Debate I had a partner.  My first job at Texas Instruments was shared with a partner who handled “business” software while I handled the technical programs.  The remainder of my time there and well into IBM, I shared offices and roles with peers, some easier than others.  Not everyone makes that shift, and there are many singular leaders who give the impression that it is all about “them”, and occasionally their Values of “the cult of personality” can survive and persist… but at what cost? 

The no wonder Values..

The no wonder Values..

Mar 12, 2021 | , ,

Like most weeks, Friday’s wonder post is the easiest to figure out with both what I am going to say, and the musician that embodies that quality for the band.  It is a rare treat that the story also aligns with the song title.  And if you read these enough, you might guess the player I focus on the most is the Bass player – and this week you would be right.  But I am already ahead of myself – one of my Values that is less helpful is being “Restless” – racing ahead and never being happy with where I am.  It is what made me a great Youth worker at church, and an even better recruiter… 

The Value of execution

The Value of execution

Mar 13, 2021 | , ,

For as long as I can remember, I have been working – and not in a negative way.  I love doing things, solving problems, creating things, particularly when they are complicated.  As an executive I had to realize that making things EASY was actually WAY more important… and also, WAY more difficult.  The way I would explain this to you in-person would be to draw a Venn diagram – which most of you won’t even remember from Geometry or Algebra.  The idea is you have a circle, I have a circle.  Where they overlap, we share… objectives, deliverables, targets, mission, etc.  Easy with 2… but when organizations are large, the execution overlap becomes smaller and smaller… sometimes the Null Set… 

renewing your Values

renewing your Values

Mar 14, 2021 | , ,

Of all of the Values that most teams and leaders list, renewal is rarely on the list.  Particularly the leaders who really “care” and talk about “servant leadership” and are those people you want to follow. They find it very hard to carve out time for the most important resource – themselves.  As I start working with leaders, I realize that most of my real value is forcing them to spend an hour or so on… themselves.  Sure I can bring some Value with my clever questions, listening, some observations, even some much-requested “advice”… but realistically… just getting them to focus on themselves is what I am paid to do now…