What values are and how they shape behaviour.
A short input on what values are, how they differ from beliefs and personality traits, and how they shape behaviour in ways people often don't notice.
This explainer clears up the common confusion between values, beliefs, and preferences. It establishes a working definition of values that participants can use throughout the session: enduring principles that guide behaviour and decision-making, most visible when they are under pressure. It also sets up the honest conversation that follows by normalising the gap between the values people hold and the values they live by.
Participants have a clear, shared understanding of values as a concept and a framework for examining their own.
Give participants a precise, useful understanding of what values are before they reflect on their own. Keep the input short and grounded in examples, then open the floor for questions and reactions.
Deliver the input, kept short and grounded in examples, around ten to twelve minutes. Cover three things. First, what values actually are: enduring principles that guide behaviour and decision-making, distinct from beliefs, which are what we think is true, preferences, which are what we enjoy, and goals, which are what we want to achieve. Values are expressed through behaviour, and unlike goals they are never completed. Second, how values show up: in decisions under pressure, in what triggers discomfort or satisfaction, and in what you notice when a team or organisation is at its worst. Third, the gap: values and behaviour do not always match, which is a normal feature of working life, and the useful question is where the gap is and what causes it. Land a few points as you go. Most people are living by more values than they realise, and the aim is to surface and name them. The work is about specificity, moving from vague principles to named, observable behaviours. Keep it grounded, because a values explainer can easily tip into abstract philosophy. Integrity is a value many people claim, so ask what it looks like in a difficult conversation, or when someone cuts corners on a deadline. That specificity is what makes the concept usable, and use examples from your own experience where you can.
Open the floor for questions and reactions before moving on.
Use Values 101 when a group is meeting the topic for the first time and you want a clear working definition before they reflect on their own. The input separates values from beliefs and preferences, and shows how they shape behaviour under pressure.
Using this tool with a skilled facilitator means that discussions are focused, time is used efficiently, and the group moves toward consensus, making the session productive and impactful.
