I think that any kind of team should have a known set of core values that make up its foundations. These values form a baseline that runs through every aspect of a group of people and they can refer to it as a guide as they push towards their goals.
TCH
In the team I am currently in, we are using TCH:
- Transparency;
- Courage;
- Honesty.
Now, there are a bunch of great values out there like respect, trust, determination, excellence, loyalty, wisdom and many more. I don’t want to knock on any of those, and I’m not saying TCH is better than any of them, but in our team ecosystem and our culture, they work well and they help us grow.
Self-Organized
When applied, TCH will promote the adoption of powerful habits in a team. We strive to create teams that will be self-organized, meaning that team members are in charge of deciding how the work will be done, they choose their means of evaluation and through it, we aim to cultivate a sense of engagement.
Cultivate a sense of engagement
That sense of engagement is the goal behind all of this. This is the most important benefit we want to get out of TCH. We want them to truly care about what they are doing. When they do, everything else falls into place. They become focused on doing things the right way, they commit themselves to their project, they push their limits and they are willing to go the extra mile. When people are engaged, great things happen.
Transparency
When team members are transparent about their work, their progress and their mistakes, they enable collaboration and allow others to be able to engage with them and help them.
Honesty
When they are honest and open (I often bundle openness with honesty), they make themselves available for dialogue, and that is the entry point towards the most productive king of communication: face-to-face without any obstacles of filters.
Courage
Finally, with courage, they can challenge teammates, clients, or other teams. It also takes courage to accept or give constructive criticism and it takes courage to have the tough discussions with a client for example.
Final words
I’m not going to tell anyone to use our core values. Our values are formed throughout our experiences and are influenced by where we come from, our strengths and weaknesses and our tastes. Each teams will have a specific set of core values that work in their environment. I would advise any team to inspect its own culture and identity, and identify a set of core values. I would advise that they explain and promote them and most importantly, I would advise that they apply them every day.
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Nick Mercier 