Workplace Values

The culture a leader creates is the world your employees live in. So we must lead wisely.

Below is my list of Workplace Values in an attempt to create a culture that wins. We routinely go over one of the values in our Monday staff meeting. This list is also used in annual reviews.

Remember who you work for: I remind my staff that we all work for God first and I’m a close second :). It helps for each staff member (I have just over 50 currently) to know who their direct report is.

Try New Stuff: We value experiments that come with successes and failures.

Get Things Done with Excellence: This one has two parts. 1) We get things done. Goals are set and met. 2) We do everything with a pursuit of excellence. And I expect my staff to be constantly defining excellence.

Hustle: We value speed. Get to work early. Don’t wait until the last minute. You get the idea.

Kindness and Joy: We value treating each other in a kind and pleasant way. Always…no exceptions.

Communication: 99% of problems are caused by poor communication and 99% of solutions are due to good communication.

Growth: We value growth in every area. Numerical. Fiscal. Attendance. We have a monthly scorecard that tracks the #’s

Choose trust over suspicion: Stole this one from Andy Stanley. It’s always best to trust each other rather than to be suspicious of each others motives and activity. By the way, trust isn’t earned with new employees. It’s given to start. As time progresses distrust can in fact be earned.

Frugality: Planting a church taught me to be frugal. If we spend everything we have then we aren’t creating financial margin. And I’ve learned that the best things happen in the margin.

Know your wins: I want each staff member to know their wins daily, weekly, seasonally and annually. Each of my pastors have a brief stand up meeting with me each day to make sure we 1) communicate and 2) know their wins for that day.

Involvement: I want my staff involved in church life and in the lives of church members. I also expect their families to be involved.

Tension vs. Problems: Again, stole this one from Andy Stanley. Knowing the difference between something that is a tension that needs to be managed from a problem that needs to be solved helps to manage your time, get things done and win.