How to define your university's values
This article covers:
Evidence that many universities fall back on the same set of values
What values are and why they matter
When the best time might be to define or review your values
Common mistakes
Suggested process to follow
We recently audited the stated values of 130 UK universities.
We wanted to understand how clear and differentiated those values were, as a lens through which to understand how those universities perceived themselves and sought to portray themselves to others.
The results were enlightening… but not surprising.
The top 5 values were shared by at least 25% of universities: inclusive (44%), ambitious (27%), innovative (25%), excellence (25%), collaborative (25%).
To our mind these are more the ‘safe bet’ characteristics of universities as a category overall rather than values which can be meaningfully leveraged to shape a thriving and distinctive culture. No-one would necessarily disagree with them, but do they reflect the beliefs that truly shape the way people at a particular university think and behave? Do they create energy, momentum and a sense of belonging?
If you’re thinking about reviewing your current set of values, or defining them for the first time, here are a few tips for how - and why - to go about it.
“The real difference between success and failure… can very often be traced to how well the organisation brings out the great energies and talents of its people. What does it do to help these people find common cause with each other?”
What are values and why do they matter?
This sounds like an obvious question, but having a clear definition and objective agreed with those involved at the outset is essential if you want the end result to have genuine impact.
Values are the guiding principles which underpin your organisation - they shape your culture, and when truly lived can influence the mindset and behaviours of everyone within it. Sitting side-by-side with your Purpose, they express a system of ideas which can galvanise people towards a shared goal or vision.
Done right, your values will shape decision-making, priority-setting and how you stay accountable to each other. They can therefore shape your character and identity.
Increasingly those outside the university will look to your values too - particularly if you opt to make them public. Funders, partners, prospective employees or students will see your Purpose and Values as indicators of the type of organisation you are and how you operate. Together, they play a part in creating a strong magnetic pull. In this sense values can also shape your destiny.
When is a values exercise best undertaken?
Most organisations are prompted to review or define their values as they undergo some form of change. Whether that be growth, decline, expansion or change of focus:
When it becomes important to articulate what may until now have been implicit or unspoken.
When there is a clear need to unite a new, different or wider set of people behind what you’re aspiring to do.
When your existing values are no longer driving the right behaviours to take you where you need to go.
What mistakes are often made when defining values?
Despite what we’ve said above, in reality organisations don’t have values. People do. Which means there are two mistakes often made when it comes to trying to define them.
Mistake #1: Top down only definition: This is when values are set out by a leadership team because they represent what they believe the values of the organisation should be. But values can’t be conveniently superimposed based on how you’d like others to see you. Done this way they’re likely to be ineffective at shaping behaviour. How would any of us respond if we were told what we ought to value?
Mistake #2: Bottom up only definition: This alternative approach defines a set of values by uncovering the actual values held by people within the organisation. This at least enables you to capture what is already authentically believed by the majority. But it can result in values which, while resonating, aren’t best placed to achieve the vision and goals you are striving for.
The sweet spot? Unsurprisingly this is in the middle. Igniting the energies and talents of people towards a shared purpose and common cause.
“If it is people who create great brands, then it is who we are, and how we choose to be - our qualities and behaviour - that count, at any stage of the process.”
Finding common cause: suggested process
Determining your values is about identifying a set of principles and beliefs already held by people, and putting them to the service of achieving a clear purpose quicker and more effectively.
How people participate in that process is key. Their engagement and involvement in shaping the outcome will impact the extent to which they are inspired to put those values into practice individually in their day-to-day activities and interactions.
At Firehaus we tend to think about this process in a series of roughly chronological steps as set out above.
We’ve shared advice on how to define your vision, mission and purpose in a previous article, so we won’t dwell on that here. Other than to say that it’s incredibly helpful to have this defined before you shortlist your values.
The process of getting to a long list of shared values is no easy process - particularly the larger the organisation. The most comprehensive - but most time consuming way - is through a series of stakeholder workshops - although we’ve found an online survey to be a helpful and cost effective shortcut. At this stage you’re not necessarily needing people to think too deeply about their own individual values. An instinctive response to a set of stimulus can be a good gauge.
Once you have a long list of 10-15 values, a workshop is the most effective next step to whittle down the list, because wrestling with and discussing the options is an important way of giving people a stake in the outcome and its long-term impact. Made up of representatives from across the organisation (or run as a series of workshops across departments), it’s helpful to set criteria against which to shortlist. For example:
Does this value help us to achieve our vision and purpose?
Is it specific to our university? (Or to your department or research centre etc. if you’re undertaking at a divisional level.)
Can we live this value even on days when things aren’t going well?
If we chose this value, what would we continue, stop and start doing?
Where have we seen this value in action in our university (department / research centre etc.)?
The outputs of these sessions are best taken to a project team and university leadership for a final recommendation and decision-making. But once that decision has been taken, it’s then essential that people have an opportunity to hear about the final rationale and can see how their views have been taken account of.
“If we do not have clarity of values, if we don’t have anywhere else to look or focus, if we don’t have that light up above to remind us why we’re here, the cynics and the critics can bring us to our knees.”
Defining values is only the beginning
Once you have a final set of values which you are confident are shared by many people right across the university, the real work of embedding those as core drivers of your culture and identity begins. How you in effect operationalise them. How you bring them to life through defined behaviours. How you make them memorable. How you keep them front and centre in people’s minds.
We’ll return to this in a future blog.
Image: Ross Findon from Unsplash