Member-only story
Same values. Different reaction.
I have always believed that values are our only constants and, if we want to know how a person will react in a situation, we just need to understand the person’s values.
Unfortunately, from time to time, I have noticed that a person (who has the same values as me) reacts differently to the same situation. This troubled me until I realized that we all have a hierarchy of values and that while we can both have the same set of values, how we prioritize them can be different.
Allow me to explain ….
Let’s say Person A and Person B, working in an organization, hold the same values of honesty, hard work, and harmony. If a situation arises where a third colleague, Person C, is slacking off at work, depending on the hierarchy of the three values, Person A and Person B will deal with Person C differently.
As Person A’s values hierarchy is honesty, hard work, and harmony, Person A will directly call out Person C’s behavior. For Person B, since his value hierarchy is harmony, hard work, and honestly, Person B will hold his tongue and pick up the slack for Person C. Same three values, different reaction to the same situation.
I share this to highlight that while it is important for organizations have values, I believe that it is equally — if not more — important that the hierarchy of values be clearly articulated. Without this alignment, an organization’s values will fail to define behavioral norms and will do little to impact how decisions are made.
