Are these the core values of your business?

by | Nov 13, 2023 | Business-Building Resources

My team and I meet every month for our All Team Meeting. One of the first items on our Agenda is to highlight one of our team core values.

There are 3 main reasons we focus on a core value each month:

✅ To remind ourselves of the values always guiding our service to clients.

✅ To come together & focus on how we support each other as a team.

✅ To welcome input from ALL team members on key themes underlying our work.

I wanted to share this practice of focusing on our core values in case you might want to incorporate it into your own team meetings in 2024.

(And if you don’t yet have a team, you can create your own list of core values for yourself as you guide your business forward….)

Here’s how we do it each month…

1. I lead the conversation by selecting a core value from our team’s list of core values. (We created our list of core values a long time ago.)

2. I share the definition of the core value and lead a discussion about what it means.

3. Then we ALL talk about it in the context of how we interact as a team, with our clients, and in our business operations. Everyone contributes to the discussion.

🎯 For example, in September, the core value we highlighted was Trust.

I shared with my team that the Oxford English Dictionary (and other dictionaries) define Trust as the “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something”, “placing confidence in” and “assured reliance.”

Together we created this list of examples about how we show Trust (based on the definition I shared) to our clients, to our team and within our operations. Here’s our list:

Ways we show and build TRUST with our clients:

  • We help them feel welcome.
  • We listen to them and hold the space when they reach out.
  • We’re responsive to their questions/concerns in email, Legal Chats and on social media.
  • We provide them with easy legal steps and answers to their legal questions.
  • We have clear processes that they can follow with ease.
  • We have clear payment processes and refund policies.
  • We show up with integrity and respect for them and their views.
  • We do what we say we will do.

Ways we show and build TRUST within our team:

  • We have each other’s backs.
  • We give loving & gentle reminders to each other and grant grace.
  • We share our expertise with each other, even if it’s not in our specific wheelhouse.
  • We encourage, support and praise each other.
  • We do what we say we will do.

Ways we show TRUST with our processes:

  • We have clear processes for our clients when they book a Legal Chat, purchase a product, or ask a support question.
  • We have clear processes for our team to follow and we all follow them (as much as possible). 
  • We’ve developed 50+ Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in writing to document our internal processes and we rely on them.

In case you’re wondering, since we’ve started this practice at team meetings, our team’s core values we’ve covered are:

Excellence. Solutions. Love. Kindness. Safety. Inclusion. Integrity. Respect. Trust. And Ease.

But we’re not done yet!

November’s core value is Freedom.

And December’s core value is Legal Love.💓

Since the world has been full of disturbing situations lately (like in the Middle East and my sweet little state of Maine), it made me think of how grounding our core values can be during times of turmoil.

⭐ Our core values can become our north star, beaming their bright light for us to follow.

Have you thought about YOUR core values lately? Do you have your own list?

Remember, you get to define your own core values and your own business policies.

Everything we do should be aligned with our core values and who we ARE and what we believe.

Good people – and good business leaders – operate in integrity with their core values. 

(Integrity is one of my core values. Remember it from the core values I shared above? ⬆️ Not surprisingly, I tend to attract clients with a lot of integrity too. (#lawofattraction  But I digress…)

We want our business policies – and legal documents! – to reflect our core values too.

🤔 So how do you KNOW what your core values are? 

🤔 How do you know if your current business policies line up with them?

You’re in luck. 

I invite you to listen to my previously aired podcast episode HERE to identify your core values and know if your business and legal policies are aligned with them.

 

 

Listen to the 22 minute podcast episode here.

The end of the year is an excellent time to get clear about your values.

Get yourself (and your team!) ready for 2024 feeling grounded and focused on your core values so you can use them as your north star.

Here’s to identifying your own core values for yourself and your team – and to making sure your business policies align with what you value and believe!