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Do You Value Your Values?


Blog by Terri Knox | October 13th, 2017


Too often individuals don't take the time to reflect on their personal values. Have you ever wondered what your values are? Take a moment to write down some of your core values that are important to you, including ones that are significant in your particular industry or workplace. These may include honesty, commitment, integrity or being of service to others. Writing them down, allows you to visualize them and become more committed to your values in your life.

Also, take a look at your behaviors and see if they match what you have written. For example, if you value being a team player, how do you do or not do this? If you have a sense of guilt or shame as you reflect on how you express your values, it can be an indication of the distance between how you perceive yourself and what you are actually doing.

Once you recognize the importance of your values, you are then able to translate this to your customers.

I once had a colleague who had a hard time with my commitment to friendly service to customers. Internally, he thought that I was kissing up to management. This was far from the truth, as my rewards were greater than what I ever would have received from management. One day as we were walking along a corridor, he told me that within three months I would have the same negative attitude he did. He indicated that, by then, I would be jaded by customers and the public. He continued to say that this service and energy that I believed in and delivered would eventually run out. He never understood that my service to others fueled me and also enabled me to continue filling my service tank. The more I gave to customers in service, the more I received in return.