How to keep your veterinary team values alive and ensure they become ingrained in your team’s day-to-day interactions.
We’ve reached the final part of our series on team values!
If you’ve made it this far, you’ve identified and defined your team’s core values (Part 1), and narrowed down your list to the most meaningful ones (Part 2).
After putting in the effort to create a set of meaningful values, it’s all too easy to let them fade into the background amidst the daily rush.
We’ve seen it before – values printed on a poster in the break room, only to become invisible over time. But values shouldn’t just be a poster to walk by; they should be a living, breathing part of your practice’s culture.
How do we turn them into real drivers of behaviour, guiding everything from our day-to-day actions to how we support one another through challenges?
The key is accountability.
Make Values Part of Your Regular Conversations
The first step to keeping your values alive is to make them a regular topic of discussion. Whether it’s a quick check-in during team meetings or a more in-depth reflection at staff reviews, take the time to ask: “Where have we been nailing our values recently?” and don’t shy away from asking “Where could we improve?”
Honest conversations like these help identify areas where your team might need more focus and encourage everyone to hold each other accountable.
When the values are discussed regularly and everyone can connect their actions to these values, it reinforces their importance. If someone slips up, instead of reprimanding them, simply reference the values.
The conversation could look something like this: “Hey, I know we all agreed that we value respect, can we talk about how we can bring that into this situation?” This type of conversation helps hold everyone accountable, including yourself, in a constructive, non-judgmental way.
The Power of the Post-It Note Method
Keep the sticky notes going! To make sure the values stay relevant and connected to real-life scenarios, encourage your team to regularly reflect on how those values play out in practice.
Every few weeks, ask your team to write down how they’re seeing the values manifest in the work they’re doing. Then stick those notes on the values poster, where everyone can see.
It’s a simple way to keep those values grounded in real-world behaviour.
But remember, this isn’t about pointing fingers. The goal is for everyone to reflect on their own actions and understand how they align with (or stray from) the team values.
This creates a culture of:
- Self-reflection
- Personal growth
Incorporating Values into New Team Member Onboarding
When a new team member joins, don’t let your values remain something that stays on the wall. Introduce new team members to the existing values right away and ask them to reflect on their previous experiences.
They’ll bring a unique perspective that can help enhance your team’s values while ensuring they feel immediately aligned with the culture you’ve built.
Plus, their fresh insights might even lead to valuable tweaks or new ideas you can inject into your values.
In conclusion, keeping your team values alive takes effort, reflection, and a commitment to making them part of your everyday culture.
It’s all about accountability, consistency, and ensuring that everyone has a chance to contribute and reflect on what these values mean for them.
As always, you’re building something incredible here. By embedding your values into every aspect of your practice, you’re creating a team culture that will thrive, even in tough times.
Like to revisit the entire series?
Veterinary Team Values that Truly Matter Part 1: Bringing Values to Life
Veterinary Team Values that Truly Matter Part 2: Taking Your Values to the Next Level
