Chellie Phillips, an international bestselling author and leadership expert, recently shared her powerful VALUE method for creating thriving workplace cultures on the Gut + Science podcast. Chellie says the VALUE acronym provides a simple yet highly effective framework for leaders to foster engagement, empower their teams, and drive growth in their organizations.
The Vision That Unites
The first step in the VALUE method is establishing a clear Vision that the entire team can rally behind. As Chellie explains, “A leader can’t lead a team unless they have the vision of where they’re going, because they have to be able to sell that vision to the rest of the team so that everybody’s on the same page.”
However, she stresses that leaders shouldn’t craft this vision in isolation. Instead, they should actively involve their team members in the process. “What better way to get them engaged from the very beginning than to help define that vision?” she asks. “What do we want to see as the outcome? Having them play a part in making that picture become a reality for everybody in there, I think, is so important.”
Accountability Through Trackable Values
With a shared vision in place, the next step is defining specific Values and assigning trackable behaviors to each one. “You have to have values that you can track, and you have to be able to assign a behavior to that value,” Chellie states. These behaviors could include sales numbers, customer satisfaction metrics, productivity goals, or regular team meetings.
The key is putting the onus of accountability on the team itself: “Don’t be afraid to put some of that responsibility on your team. It gives them ownership in the process. And when you give them ownership, they feel they have something that they have control over.”
Coaching to Unleash Potential
In the VALUE model, Leadership is all about becoming an effective coach who can bring out the best in each team member. “As the leader, as that coach of your team, I love thinking of it as I’m coaching this team to success,” Chellie shared.
Crucially, she notes that coaching requires understanding and adapting to the unique needs of every individual: “Not everybody wants to be led the same way. So as that leader, as that coach…how do I be that coach for each of those people?”
Celebrating Uniqueness
Which brings us to the “U” in VALUE, representing the Uniqueness of each person on the team. “When people feel special or they feel valued or they feel like I’m adding something, that’s a whole other level of engagement that you’re getting from them,” Chellie explains.
She encourages leaders to take every opportunity to recognize individual achievements and contributions. “You have to have those moments where the individual is able to be showcased so that the team as a whole can recognize the value that they each have,” she says.
The Ultimate Goal: Full Engagement
Implement the first four principles of Vision, Accountability, Leadership, and acknowledging Uniqueness, and the final outcome, according to Phillips, is full team Engagement—the “E” in VALUE.
“When you do all of these things, you’re going to have the engagement that you’ve been wanting as an organization,” she states. Signs of an engaged workforce include low turnover and absenteeism, high levels of collaboration across departments, and a willingness among employees to volunteer their time and ideas.
Chellie even suggests that initially focusing on just a small team can spark a positive “culture virus” that spreads engagement throughout the entire organization: “I tell everybody not to be afraid of even a small culture movement because the engagement that you’re creating inside that small team can build and grow and move out to other areas.”
A Powerful Yet Simple Framework
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the VALUE method is its elegant simplicity. As one of Chellie’s clients put it after implementing the approach: “These are not complicated things to do. These are things we should be doing anyway. It’s just making them a priority and focusing on them.”
By providing a clear step-by-step process for uniting teams, fostering accountability, leveraging good coaching, and celebrating uniqueness, the VALUE method promises to drive engagement and unlock new levels of performance and growth. Drawing on her years of experience and insights from top companies, Chellie Phillips has developed a potent yet refreshingly simple recipe for cultural transformation.
Listen to the episode: Gut + Science | Episode: How to Build a VALUE Culture with Chellie Phillips
Key Takeaways:
- The often underestimated resistance to culture-focused strategies in organizations.
- A heartening success story from a small digital marketing firm that thrived through a carefully cultivated culture.
- Chellie’s unique V.A.L.U.E. framework – your blueprint to inscribing vision and accountability into your team’s core.
- Pro-tips on leadership that harnesses the power of listening, coaching, and embracing each team member’s uniqueness.
Things to listen for:
00:00 Successful organizations have simple cultural focus areas.
12:24 Define vision, values, and behaviors for accountability.
13:53 Delegate, motivate, empower, and encourage for success.
17:51 Listening is crucial before guiding others effectively.
