Page Title

Stop Communicating Values

March 12, 2002

"The urge to wrap a change in a value is irresistible.  But the urge to communicate your values is proof positive that you are not acting on them.  The only effective way to communicate a value is to act in accordance with it and give others the incentive to do the same.  If you value customer service, for instance, then recruitment, performance appraisals, promotions, and bonuses should be based on customer service performance.  Creating objectives measures for such performance will demonstrate your values much more clearly than your words ever can.

Stopping the value talk is itself a radical change, especially considering that, according to the Wyatt study, 68% of large companies consider missions and values to be their number one communication priority.  We appeal to your intuition and common sense.  Imagine meeting a business contact for the first time.  This person hands you a card and says, 'I want you to know my values.  They are written here: I promise not to lie, cheat, or steal during any business transaction.'  Does that put you at ease?  No - it makes you suspicious, and it does so because people reveal their values through their actions, not through their words.  Talking about values signals that fraud is near (Larkin & Larkin, 1999, pp.147-148)."

Reference:  Larkin, T.J. & Larkin S. (1999).  Harvard business review on effective communication.
Boston:  Harvard Business Review.

Do you walk or talk your values?

Harvard Business Review on Effective Communication is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center.  A complete listing of all the Leadership Center's resources is available on our website http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu

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Created: 2008-12-13, Updated: 2009-01-07