Values-led and courageous

Reflections:

I hope you enjoyed the podcast this week looking at Mary’s trait on being values-led and courageous.

In truth I’ve little to add to the podcast, I think it gave a fairly comprehensive summary of this trait, which I can summarise as follows:

Our personal values determine how we act and behave.  They are our guiding principles, our moral compass.  People who are values-led constantly refer to those values to govern their decision making.  Mary has deeply rooted values.  They are not something we articulate every day, they are deep inside us.  They guide us without us even realising.

The stronger our personal values the more courageous we become.  There is a direct link.  Our inner strength guides us to face up to the decisions we need to make and to be courageous in making them.

It is very common for organisations to develop a values framework.  It is rarer to come across an organisation which has really brought them to life, embedded them, and used them to create a values framework for the whole organisation.  Where this does happen, and where the people at the top demonstrate them consistently in their everyday behaviours, they can form the basis of a high performance culture with amazing results.

The school I mention in the podcast really is amazing.  It’s situated in a deprived area in the north west of England, with many problems and challenges in the local community.  The young head teacher, who I have had the privilege to work with over the past few years, is a remarkable woman.  She has created an oasis of positive calm in the school which is all too often absent in the chaotic lives many of these children experience at home.  Linked to this positive calm is an admirable sense of endeavour and work ethic.

This young leader, values-led herself, has developed with her staff, governors, children and parents, a framework for the whole school based around three values: enjoy, embrace, evolve.

The results are extraordinary.  Not only are they evident the moment you enter the school, but have translated into step change improvements in SATS results and national teaching awards recognition.