Getting It Together!:
VALUES
Objectives:
•Determine the meaning of values.
•Examine the importance of values to leaders.
•Explore how our values are determined.
•Examine the ways our values are demonstrated to others.
Values





Define “values”.
About.com says, “Values are traits or
qualities that are considered worthwhile;
they represent your highest priorities and
deeply held driving forces.
Wikipedia says, “Values are broad
preferences concerning appropriate
courses of action or outcomes.”
They reflect a person’s sense of what right
and wrong ought to be.
They influence attitudes and behaviors.
Examples of Values

Belief in hard work, punctuality,
ambition, integrity, honesty,
loyalty, responsibility,
persistency, optimism,
dependability, self-reliance, and
empathy.
Values are statements…





…about what you stand for and what
is important to you.
Values are your personal bottom
line.
They are the way we can measure
who you really are.
Our values give direction to
everything we do. They’re the basis
for every decision we make…every
action we take.
Everything you do says something
about what you value!
Why do you…?






…participate in athletics?
…in band?
…in student council?
…in whatever it is you do?
Do you cuss? Do you cuss in front
of other people?
What does this have to do with your
values? Are you going to continue to
do that?



I just want you to understand
that everything you say,
everything you do…says
something about what you
value!
People are watching you just as
you watch others.
I wonder what they’re seeing?
Ways Our Values are
Demonstrated
1)
The way we spend our time.
If I say I value my children, but
the first thing I do when I get
home every night is sit down,
turn on the T.V. and ignore my
kids…then perhaps I don’t
really value my children! I’m
fooling myself…but I’m not
fooling my kids!
Ways Our Values are
Demonstrated
2) The way we spend our money. If
I say I care about the poor, but my
checkbook doesn’t show that I give
to any charitable foundations that
help them…if I’m not actively
involved in feeding, clothing and
educating them…then maybe I don’t
really care about the poor as much
as I’d like to believe I do!
Ways Our Values are
Demonstrated
The way we treat other people. If
I say I love family, but I come home
every night and yell at, beat, and
abuse my husband and
children…then I don’t really love
and value my family! I’m just a
noise-maker…a bag of hot
air…saying things I obviously don’t
believe.
** You see these three things tell me a
lot about what’s really important to
you. If we do not live up to our
values, then we are phonies…we’re
hypocrites!
3)
Moments of Truth






When I use the term “moment of truth”, what
do you think about?
Moments of truth are like windows into your
real motives.
They are situations that arise where you
have choices. We can see who you really
are by looking at the choices you make in
that situation.
An example of a moment of truth for you
might be when you find a wallet loaded with
money and credit cards that someone has
lost.
Your decision about what to do with the
wallet is the window into who you really are.
It’s that point that I discover what you truly
value!
Values in Action



I think it’s true that we often
make very poor decisions simply
because we are unclear about
our values!
Are people watching you? Yes,
you bet they are!
Can you see someone’s values?

Maybe we can’t actually see their
values, but we can surely see
what they value…by watching
how they behave, listening to
their opinions, and looking at
their attitudes. When we see
coaches breaking recruiting
rules, or politicians doing illegal
things for personal gain, or
people making profit off of
another’s misfortune, or business
people cheating on taxes…we
are seeing their values!
I wonder…



As we look at what is happening
in America today, I wonder what
we would say about this
country’s values?
What do you think?
Have our values changed in this
country over the last 30 years or
so?
I wonder…


I have to wonder what the epidemic
of AIDS and other sexuallytransmitted diseases says about our
nation’s values? And what about the
dramatic increase in violent
crime…especially among our
teenagers! Or what about the
increasing number of illiterate kids
graduating from high school and the
declining test scores we’re seeing?
And what about the increasing rate of
teen pregnancy? What about the rise
of gang activity we are continuing to
see?
I wonder…

I believe that these things tell us
a great deal about the values
American has embraced. It’s
been said before that, “A tree is
judged by its fruit.” I think that’s
true of people and countries,
too, and if it is…then what kind
of fruit are you producing?
I wonder…



And if the fruit of our lips are the
words we speak, then I wonder
what they tell us about
ourselves?
What do our actions tell us
about what we really believe?
I wonder…are we really who we
say we are?
Values…what we stand for…
our personal bottom line!

Video: “Winning the Culture War”, speech
by Charlton Heston.


Part 1
Part 2

“Lots of people have morals. Lots of people
have courage. But few have moral
courage. It takes moral courage to take a
stand when it costs you something.”-Flip
Flippen

How does this quote relate to Charleton
Heston’s reference to when he spoke at the
Time/Warner stockholders’ meeting?