If I’m being very honest, there were moments over the past year when I stopped, took a few extra breaths and focused on simply being mindful. There was a lot of disruption for which I had no context, little comfort and no end date. It was through this process that I started looking for silver linings and ways to create more positivity.
We spend a lot of time in our work environment. Following many changes and the swirling uncertainty of 2020, I began to think about the pieces of connection we were missing and the normal contact, the human interaction element. Collaboration has long been a cornerstone of our team dynamic and fundamental to the everyday workflow. How could we be better at alignment going forward?
It’s values. These are the guiding principles which help to shape our beliefs and our actions. They are at the core of our decision making processes. They are the better versions of us, to which we aspire to be when we are our best selves.
Our values extend to our business selves, to our efficiency and productivity; to our cultural selves and shared beliefs; to our consumer selves influencing behaviour and loyalty. It’s all of these.
Over the past year, Team GMD workshopped to define our personal value wheels. It was strengthening because when you understand what is important to you and your personal values, you map your wheel. Our finished personal wheels looked like reflections of the spirit that we had come to know in our teammates. It was refreshing to see this as a visual cue and additionally, it allowed us to see what is important to each other. It heightened our senses of respect and trust.
From here, we amalgamated our shared values to become the team wheel. When you anchor to a common vision for how the team works together, the result of a more streamlined communication style has a knock-on effect on the quality of work, overall output, and general happiness. Yes, happiness. It may be our most important KPI because it’s a predictor of stability and future prospects.
