As a consulting and education firm, we go into many organisations and they inevitably have a set of values i.e. integrity, honesty, passion, customer centric/obsessed, courage, and so on.
That’s nice on one level, but how are these values practised every day? How are they demonstrated and enacted?
This is usually the missing piece, which is why my preference is to be virtues driven rather than values driven.
Values and virtues are often seen as synonymous, however, they are quite different.
Simply put, values are goals or ideals or even opinions.
Virtues are behaviours showing high moral standards. Virtues are how we practice and demonstrate character.
A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. Personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting collective and individual greatness. In other words, it is a behaviour that shows high moral standards. Doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. The opposite of virtue is vice.
For example, we can say we value honesty and trustworthiness but not all of us possess or practice the virtues of honesty and trustworthiness in our daily work and life, even though we could if we wanted to and knew how.
Charles Wookey, CEO of the UK charity Blueprint for Better Business, highlights there’s a big difference between saying you’re ethical and behaving ethically. There’s a big difference between what we say and what we do. Which is why at Barrett, we always promote that any sales and business interaction should be underpinned by ‘making promises we can keep and keeping the promises we make’.
I am sceptical about values being the only measure of our character. Values can become like green-washing or purpose-washing when an organisation and its leaders espouse that they are ‘customer centric’ or ‘ethical’ or ‘committed to fairness’ and so on.
None of this matters until you demonstrate that you truly are putting these ideals into practice through virtues.
So what should we do when faced with an ethical problem?
I refer here to Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, and one of the most influential philosophers of all time, who developed a comprehensive system of virtue ethics that we can learn from even today.
Aristotle urges us to ask “What kind of person should I be?”
As Scotty Hendricks, contributing writer to Big Think wrote, ‘Aristotle sees virtues as character traits and tendencies to act in a particular way. We gain them through practice and by copying ‘moral exemplars’ until we manage to internalize the virtue. We become temperate by practicing temperance, courageous by practicing courage, and so on. Eventually, the virtue becomes a habit.‘
Which is why I practice virtues rather than values. I’m an Aristotelian at heart.
I treat virtues as skills and mindsets to master – like sport or music or any discipline I can get better at them, and the more I practice them the better I get – they become habits. And virtues build character and resilience.
There are many virtues and The Virtues Project, a global grassroots initiative to inspire the practice of virtues in everyday life, is sparking a global revolution of kindness, justice, and integrity in more than 100 countries. It is an amazing resource I encourage you to explore. I use this resource in my work and in my personal life. It’s a wonderful parenting and teaching resource, too. The Virtues Project has 60+ core virtues that underpin all religions and non-religious practices.
Every week, at Barrett we practice a different virtue from the Virtues Project list. At Barrett we have defined 5 core virtues that underpin our daily practice as a team. Our aim is to develop our mastery of these and other virtues every day.
EXCELLENCE
We give our best to all that we do.
We give our best in our relationships.
We are committed to lifelong learning.
We are committed to Self-Mastery.
We work with love.
We are guided by a noble purpose and bring our gifts to fruition.
Excellence is our true prosperity.
PURPOSEFULNESS
We are aware we are here for a reason.
We discern our intention & focus on it mindfully.
We create a clear vision & set clear goals.
We concentrate fully & trust in the journey.
Purposefulness gives our lives true value.
KINDNESS
We are warm, friendly, and ready to help.
We listen for the needs beneath the words.
We balance honesty and tact.
We are good stewards of the earth and all living things.
We give tender attention in ways that bring others happiness.
We remember to be kind to ourselves.
Kindness awakens our hearts.
GRATITUDE & APPRECIATION
We are thankful for the gift of life, friendship, work and community
We see the good in life, people and environment.
We freely express our gratitude and admiration.
We know Love thrives on appreciation.
We pay forward our appreciation with the practice gratitude
We honour our progress and value the gift in our tests.
We do not allow ourselves to stay down or disappointed
We enjoy all that life has to offer.
Gratitude and Appreciation fills our cup.
COOPERATION
We work together for the good of all.
We invite partnership and trust the power of unity.
We seek common goals in service of a unified vision.
We use our different gifts and help one another share the load.
We work together to accomplish great things.
Cooperation brings us into community.
Our Selling Better Manifesto is also an expression of virtues with its 12 guiding principles:
- Opportunity & Optimism = Purposeful Optimism
- Above all do no harm
- Everybody lives by selling something
- Client centred equals human centred
- The power of purposeful action
- Discernment
- The value of reciprocity and mutual prosperity
- Kindness and curiosity are contagious
- Courage and persistence creates resilience
- Honesty and authenticity
- Less me, more we
- Systems Thinking
So as we enter a new year and a new decade maybe we can think about adding to our new year’s resolutions lists the practice of virtues.
May we all live a virtues filled lives.
Season’s greetings to you all.
Remember everybody lives by selling something.
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