“Direct awareness always occurs well before any possible linguistic statement of that awareness.” – Elliot Jaques

I define values as – Values and Commitment (V/C): Those things to which an individual will give priority or wants to do. Values are vectors which direct our actions. How much we value a role determines our commitment to work in it. (Jaques 1998)

Attending a talk on Organizational Values from Bob Miller at the Organizational Development Network of Western NY (ODNofWNY).

By default I kept thinking about what drives the values that I hold? Where these values are derived from? Are there universal values that all people hold? My thoughts bounced from Kant & The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals which admittedly I have not read in some time. To other works of philosophy and organizational behavior.  

Then (maybe because I have been immersed for the past year) this line from Jaques Life and Behavior of Living Organisms;

“Direct awareness always occurs well before any possible linguistic statement of that awareness.”

This applies to personal values and the congruence or incongruence with organizational values. If your values are innate and/or instinctual (which I am not sure they are) your reaction to conditions that align and/or challenge those values happens direct awareness before you can even think to create the reality through language linguistic statement of that awareness that your values are in agreement or disagreement.
What I mean is that what you think are your values, the values you can use language to frame and describe, may happen before you have the language to explain what your values are!

The awareness occurs before you even can think it.

That brings us to this week inquiry; If the direct awareness of what we value occurs before we can create the language to explain these values; how do we know what we value?

• What are your values?
• How does it matter, your values?
• Knowing yourself, at this time-what values can you explain?
• Knowing yourself, If you were to observe you at work-what would you say you value?
• What would it feel like if I did something that violated your values?
• What does it feel like when YOU do something that is aberrant from your values?
• If you valued this work, just a little more what would be better?
• When your boss (manager, supervisor, etc…) finds value in your work how do you know?
• Imagine you arrive at work tomorrow and all the people you work with value their roles  and task-what is the 1st thing you would notice to let you know that this is happening?
• If you were to have a conversation with your manager about personal plus work values how would you go about doing that?
• What would be the ideal outcome of that talk?
• In the past how have you gotten goals, tasks that are of high value to you?
• What would your effectiveness be like if you could do more of that?
• What can you do to make that happen?

Interested in learning more about the Organization Values. Contact Mike…Want to increase retention of talent, satisfaction with work & production? You need a tool that finds what is relevant and how people value the work they do; Then apply that information to the tasks and goals to be completed. The Relevance Enneagram Does That.

michael cardus is create-learning