Team Workshop

Shared Values

Improve trust by increasing connectedness
25-60 minutes
3-15 people
Remote & on-site

Background


Shared values are the core beliefs that guide the behaviors of a team. Having shared values at work means that employees share common attitudes, principles and beliefs with their colleagues. As a result, diverse individuals become more connected which increases the level of trust within the team or organization. It also enforces their willingness to pursue collective goals and work together as one unit.


Team workshop instructions

Preparation

  • Moderation cards
  • Space to group the moderation cards (e.g whiteboard or floor)


Check-In (5 minutes)

  • Welcome the team and introduce the workshop
  • You can do a short warm-up to establish trust and include everyone from the beginning (e.g. let everyone talk about their highlight of the day).

Overview: Team members share values they believe in when it comes to cooperation and reach a consensus.

Goal: Increase trust by sharing common attitudes and values.


Step 1 (5 minutes)

  • Everyone writes down 3 values that are important to them when it comes to cooperation (each of these values should be on a separate moderation card)

Tip: We recommend single words with an explanatory sentence for each word.

Examples for such values:

  • Honesty
  • Helpfulness
  • Reliability


Step 2 (2 minutes/ person)

  • Each team member presents their values, explains why they chose them and puts them on the floor or on a pin board


Step 3 (15 minutes)

After the presentation, similar values are assigned to those already presented. Usually it then becomes clearer that the team’s values are quite similar.

  • To strengthen this impression, the team can try to find generic terms for similar values and group them together

Step 4 (15 minutes)

  • Ask the team following questions to emphazise the importance of shared values in every day worklife and facilitate a discussion.

Think of a situation at work where you have encountered the values that are important to you. What situations can you think of?

Are there any situations in which you wish those values would play a bigger role?

How can you make sure you respect your collegues’ values?



Ending (10 minutes)

  • Summarize the results.
  • Emphasise how important shared values are in every day worklife to establish trust.

Example: “To ensure mutual trust, it is important that we know and respect each other’s values. There ae shared values which give us a common ground and individual values that might not be shared by everyone. In a safe working environment both kinds – shared and individual values – need to be respected equally. Try to keep that in mind in your every day worklife to ensure everyone feels comfortable.“


First Aid ⛑🩹

  • Your team has very few shared values
Distinguish the two options:

Disagreement is caused by the fact that only three values should be selected.

Let the team members talk about why they prioritize the values the way they did and what they think about the values named by others. Maybe they can find common ground after all.

Disagreement is caused by the fact that certain values are rejected.

Let the team members talk about why certain values are important to them to strengthen the understanding in the team. Others have the chance to say why they struggle accepting some values. Maybe the disagreement is based on some misunderstandings, different definitions of the values or diverging life situations. Probably the conversation itself will lead to increased understanding.

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