4 - We Value the Work that We Do

~ We Value the Work that We Do ~

Purpose, as described in principles 2 and 3, is a foundational capability to principle #4, value. Purpose provides boundary to our consciousness and attention. But do we value the work we do? Unfortunately there are many in our profession who don’t, or certainly don’t feel this consistently. This must be changed. We must value the work that we do. At times, we’ve all felt valuable, by the value we’ve provided through our outcomes. We must strive to feel this way all of the time.

A big part of this is…what value are we to provide? We must be able to articulate the value we provide. There is endless value we can provide, we are only limited by our capability to see it. So we must think about, and articulate the value that we can provide. Then of course we must create that value.

Let us think comprehensively about the value we must add: We protection the institution from bad outcomes. We protect from loss of money. Loss of clients. Fines. Reputational Damage. We help the institution achieve good outcomes. Increases in revenue. More clients. Certified compliance with laws. We help the institution achieve a reputation of excellence. But there is more. We advise on innovative solutions that are efficient and scalable. We help save money. We teach and influence stakeholders to help them achieve their goals. We act as politicians to solve challenging problems. We break through organizational silos and make connections. We recruit and develop new talent for the function. We help each other succeed. We motivate each other. We brighten each others moods. We groom the next set of executive talent. We evolve the capabilities of the function to provide more value. We are always getting better, and that, in an of itself, is incredibly valuable.

We add a ton of value. And now that we have articulated the value we add, we can fully recognize the value of the work that we do.

Every time we are working on a project or task, we must remain mindful of the value we are adding, and how valuable we are. We must keep it top of mind and never sell ourselves short. Leaders with larger responsibilities will continuously articulate and acknowledge the value added to the function, to the teams, and to individuals.

We must also obtain receive acknowledgement of our value from all of our stakeholders. That acknowledgement continues to build the credibility of the function, and also serves us further to Value the Work that We Do.

So we will value the work that we do. The value we add. The reports, the findings, the risk assessments, the influence, the coaching and mentoring, the compliance exam that passed, the great person we hired, the new analytic, the avoided near miss, obtaining ownership and buy in to address a difficult problem, the motivated team. We will no longer sell ourselves short. We will embrace and celebrate our value.