Lessons from an Elementary School Visit

This article is the first one of the Casual Thought series, designed to reflect on the wonder around us and translate it into a consideration for business use.

I have always considered myself a lifelong learner. I have also thought that learning can take place anywhere. Recently, while visiting the school that our daughter teaches at I was reminded of the power of keeping it simple. I was also reminded of how large organizations can unintentionally take something that could be simple and make it complex. Here I was, in the hallway of a primary school, where the work of developing young minds and character occurs daily. As I walked the hallway, I stopped at one classroom door and admired its simple message.

EMPATHY – INTEGRITY – CONFIDENCE – CURIOSITY – REFLECTION.

I was struck by how this one door communicated to the entire school a message of empowerment, personal accountability and growth. I was not familiar with Habits of the Heart prior to this visit to the school and was immediately impressed by the five ‘habits’ taped to the door.

They were straightforward, well defined and spoke much louder than the coloured paper they were printed on. There were no glossy posters, branded pens, t-shirts, coffee mugs or other corporate merchandise to promote them. Just a simple door.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to participate in numerous discussions about organizational values with HR Executives from large organizations. Typically during these discussions, one person will describe an initiative being undertaken at their organization to establish new values. Often, the approaches were similar. Hire a big consulting firm, survey staff, conduct best practice research, a few executive retreats, develop an expensive marketing campaign, and host an expensive launch event and as the french say – Voila. Too often, once the memory of the event fades, the efforts to socialize the values within an organization do not take root.

There are several reasons why values may not be embraced and reflective in our workplaces. A common one is that the individuals who are expected to live them cannot see themselves as being in control. The words do not speak to them, are poorly defined or worst the words are uninspiring.

Take a moment and look at the door again. These may not be the values for your organization but we can all appreciate the simplicity of definition and how each of us can act on and relate to EMPATHY, INTEGRITY, CONFIDENCE, CURIOSITY and REFLECTION.  As an aside, how many of you feel compelled to take the first letters of the five words and create an acronym? Please don’t – keep the focus on the values.

I believe that for values to take root across an organization, they must speak to each individual, be understandable, and be within the individual’s control. If ever there is a time to use plain language, it is when we are developing universal values.

As I prepared to leave the school I thought the only thing I would change with respect to the door is that I would open it, because it made me feel welcomed.