May 30, 2022
4 reasons why ‘WHY’ and understanding your values is essential for success.
Why, 'why'?
‘People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it’
- Simon Sinek
Yes, we are lawyers, that’s what we do. But why do we do what we do? You might describe yourself as a tech company, or as a Microsoft Partner, that’s what you do.
But WHY do you do what you do?
How much time do you spend connecting your team to the common purpose of your business?
Understanding that common purpose and having a sense of belonging to something bigger than yourself is core to driving excellence.
At our recent Law 365 company retreat we wanted to work with the team to connect to our common values and to discover what this means for clients and our staff. After two days away from the office together, we went home with a greater sense of belonging in the team, and a stronger trust and connection to the vision and purpose of the company.
The return on investment on a company retreat like this is exponential!
We got the team to share stories about themselves and to think about their values, all while having fun and doing some crazy team building activities. Everyone loved the opportunity to get out of their heads and into the physical activities.
Working together with teammates to compete and win games had such a positive impact on how the team interacted on the day, and ultimately how they perform together back in the workplace.
That said, having had nearly 18 months of having almost no time physically together, as well as growing the team from 4 – 22 people, having fun together was our key goal, and we nailed it!
We know that when the individual members of a team are happy, they will perform at a higher level and they will be more aligned to the company values.
Ultimately, we know that growing and sustaining a great place to work gives our clients a world class experience.
4 reasons why WHY is so important in creating a high performing culture
2. WHY drives behaviour change
1. WHY connects your people
It pays to invest time in people to allow them to connect with each other on a deeper level by understanding their own values. If you allow them to realise that everyone is unique and has something different to offer, you will create a team that has a high level of emotional intelligence, trust, and awareness of each other, which ultimately creates an excellent working culture.
At Law 365, ‘Family’ is a core value of ours which means we work hard to create a sense of connectivity and belonging where we all genuinely support each other to create a great working environment and client service.
The Science of Happiness teaches us that the more people can work collectively towards something that they believe in, the more successful and happy they will be. People need to feel connected to a purpose bigger than themselves because it helps them to understand how they can then progress towards it. It give a sense of some control over their future and helps them to feel connected to one another.
One way to ensure your people are on board with this is to get them together in a meaningful way! This is not rocket science but how often do you really connect with your team? Not just beers in the pub, but how often have you allowed your team to share stories, to open up about their dreams and aspirations and to really listen to each other? Creating an opportunity where this can happen will incredible deliver results!
2. WHY drives behaviour change
What are your values? Have you thought about values with your employees?
Understanding the collective values in your team helps to shape the WHY.
Defining the core values in your organisation allows you to set the standards and create the culture that drives what people love about the company. This then makes it easier to hire other people who will fit in with these values.
This work must be done at an individual and team level so these values can become embedded into the fabric of the organisation.
For example, at Law 365 we value Energy and Adventure, which means we are always looking to create, innovate and change things for the better -- for our people, our clients, and our community. This has allowed us to build a team of smart, purpose-driven, ambitious people who are motivated to find solutions to problems and work in a curious and efficient way.
When you unite people with common values you can have a diverse workplace and culture that embraces the differences and is values-led.
3. WHY boosts performance
If you spend time understanding what underlies your reason for being, what drives you, what motivates you and what makes you happy, it makes sense that you will be more productive! Working with a coach to understand what your personal values are and how these align to the work you do is always enlightening, sometimes uncomfortable! We are often unconscious of our values and yet they can be a big drain on our energy and performance if we are not living and working in alignment with them.
According a study referenced in a recent HBR article, they found ‘that workers who knew they were pursuing social purpose were 24% faster and had 43% less downtime than those who didn’t, and there was no loss of quality.’ Why Your Values Belong at Work (hbr.org)
What this means is that those workers who were connected to the purpose behind why they do what they do and were aligned with their values were ultimately better workers! Doing this work can feel hard or perhaps a bit fluffy, but the results are unquestionably worth it.
4. WHY celebrate diversity
At the retreat, we spent the morning getting the team to dig deep and understand what their purpose is – we asked each person to consider.
“What is your reason for existing on this planet?”
This is a big question. It can be hard to answer and is met with a broad range of answers as we are all so unique. We didn’t expect everyone to have an answer roll off the tongue unprepared, but it has sparked a myriad of conversations since that has created a greater sense of openness and curiosity in the team.
Taking people out of their comfort zones and getting them to talk about themselves and where they have come from can help us to understand what’s important to them. It breaks down some of the barriers we put up to protect ourselves, and creates a sense of belonging to one another, which ultimately enable us to work in a more effective way together.
What are our core values at Law 365?
See our values and what makes us tick!
Would you like us to help you with this? See how we can work with you to refine your purpose, values, align your teams and get your people on board with your vision!
HAPPY 365
We have combined the best of employment services and people development to create HAPPY 365, designed to help you grow a happy workplace.
People are your greatest asset, so taking care of them, and helping them to thrive, will reduce the risk and cost in your business and help you grow. If you want to create a great place to work, you need happy people! But do you really know what makes people happy?
Find out more about HAPPY 365
Get the HAPPY 365 eBook for free
More on creating a HAPPY workplace
- Introduction to HAPPY 365
- Find out more about HAPPY 365
- What is HAPPY 365?
- Health and Resilience
- Autonomy - Do I get a say, or don’t I?
Useful links
- Law 365 Values
- The Law 365 Annual Retreat – Partners, purpose, mayhem and murder
- 10 ways Law 365 is making a difference
- Burn-out an "occupational phenomenon": International Classification of Diseases (who.int).
- How to Eliminate Burnout and Retain Top Talent (gallup.com)
- CIPD: Mental health support for employees
- THE RABBIT EFFECT: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness