The Value Translator

Turning values on the wall into behaviour in the hall
PeopleEconomics®
Value Integration Program
Why this exists

Values do not tell anyone what to do at two o'clock on a Tuesday

Integrity. Excellence. Collaboration. Respect. Two people can both believe they have integrity while behaving in completely opposite ways. Until a value is translated into a behaviour someone can watch you perform, it is vocabulary. And vocabulary does not change culture.

This tool does step three of the Value Integration Program. Leadership alignment comes first, then purpose and co-created values. This is where those words become observable, measurable, discussable behaviour, sorted into the three categories that make the whole system work.

Not "demonstrate integrity". Deliver on commitments, even when it is inconvenient.
1
Leadership alignmentLeaders agree not just on the words but on what the words mean in practice.
2
Purpose and valuesValues authentic to who the organisation actually is, not who it wishes it were.
3
Translate to behaviourYou are here. Each value becomes behaviour that can be seen, measured and discussed.
4
Roll outTeam workshops, visual reinforcement, recognition that rewards the behaviour.
5
MeasureThe 360 Value Assessment answers one question: are people actually living the values?
Category 1

Must Have

Your price of admission. Minimum criteria for every single person in the business. These behaviours are fireable. They drive hiring decisions and firing decisions. A score below 7 is a serious gap that has to be addressed.

The test: if someone consistently did the opposite of this behaviour, would they eventually have to leave? If the answer is no, it is not a Must Have. Move it to Good to Great.

Category 2

Good to Great

Your pathway to excellence. Used for development and promotion. Not everyone will show these all the time and that is fine. Meeting the Must Haves gets you to acceptable. This is what moves someone toward exceptional.

The test: what does the person you would promote tomorrow actually do that the solid performer does not? That difference is the behaviour.

Category 3

Leadership

Your standard for those who lead. If leaders are not displaying these behaviours they should not be in leadership positions. Assess everyone against them, including people without the title, and you find your future leaders before you need them.

The test: what does this look like when a leader does it in front of their team in a difficult week, when it costs them something?

The rule of three

Three values per category. No more.

Nine values with three to five behaviours each gives you a framework people can hold in their head and a 360 that people will actually complete. Twelve values gives you a document nobody reads. If a tenth value feels essential, it usually belongs inside one of the nine as a behaviour.

Before you take this to the business

Health check

Every behaviour is tested against four things: can it be observed, is it specific enough to argue about, is it one behaviour rather than three stapled together, and is it short enough to remember. Fix the flags before the roll out, not after.

Flags

Measurement and accountability

360 Value Assessment items

Each behaviour becomes a rated statement. Managers assess direct reports, peers assess each other, direct reports assess managers, and leadership is assessed by everyone. Everyone is rated against all three categories, including the Leadership items, because that is how you spot the leaders you have not promoted yet.