POLICY

Living our values

This document sets out our values, as well as what each of these means for behaviour and practice, with examples of the habits team members can adopt which would mean they are living the values.

Contents

  1. Trust
  2. Passion
  3. Care
  4. Togetherness
  5. Equality

Policy

The [staff] team’s five key values are listed below. A description of how that value manifests itself can be found below each value, along with examples of what it means to live that value and what it means for how we communicate.

The [staff] team values were last updated in March 2022, and are reviewed on an annual basis. They are incorporated into the [staff] team feedback process, and we hold ourselves and each other accountable to them on an ongoing basis.

They are not the values of the whole WEAll movement, but those that The Global Amplification (Amp) team collectively hold important.

Trust

Team members are trusted and empowered to be self-managing and to have autonomy and take responsibility for their work and workload. This includes gathering the support needed to deliver that work, as needed.

We give people the tools and freedom to manage their own work, and trust in their capacity to self-manage, act in line with our values, and seek support as needed.

Example of habit
We give everyone a good onboarding, so they have everything they need to feel ready for a self-managing role and being part of a self-managing team.
We proactively ask how people like to work during conversations in the onboarding period – and adapt to work with them in those ways.
We make decisions for our own workstreams, while following the advice-based process for decisions that impact others (see How We Make Decisions below).
We embrace experimentation and continuous learning, recognising that much of our work has never been done before.
When faced with a challenge, we make specific requests for help when we need it, so that others know how to help.

We are intentional and proactive about managing our workloads to ensure our own wellbeing and to meet the needs of the organisation.

Example of habit
We use criteria relevant to the overall organisation’s mission, action plan, and the specific role of the [person] leading the work to prioritise our work.
When being presented with new opportunities, we consider the opportunity cost of time spent to pursue them. We check with the team before saying yes to something that will take a lot of our time and ensure that all are on board (see How We Prioritise below).
We start any work with clarity on what the work involves, who is involved, and what are specific aims of the work are – and then have a post-mortem to see how it went and what the learnings were. There would be clarity on these topics.

We strive for transparency in our work, embracing mutual accountability.

Example of habit
We make sure colleagues feel in the loop on things going on, even if they don’t need to know the details. This includes using reporting, team meetings, cc’ing in emails, uploading public events to the network calendar and internal milestones to the team calendar (via the Operations Lead)
We keep our hubs, members, and the broader movement in the loop (e.g. tell hubs about talks etc happening in their locality.)
We take time to stay informed about the team’s work (e.g. read weekly reporting and team meeting notes, and ask questions)
We write up agreements / action points from meetings – and share them with those who weren’t there if needed.

We are aware of and proactively develop, improve, and maintain the skills needed to do our work well.

Example of habit
We use our Buddy conversations to outline what are concrete deliverables and areas of personal and skill development – and work towards those goals, with support from our Buddy and relevant [other staff].
We seek out training (formal or informal, one-off or ongoing) or practical learning opportunities (e.g. events) to develop targeted skills. This should receive consensus from the team before significant time is committed.

In line with our value of Trust, how we communicate is:

  • Positive: We communicate with positivity, warmth and an assumption of trust in each other.
  • Supportive: We ask for help and offer support in response to the needs expressed by others.
  • Transparent: We share updates that the team needs to know about in our weekly reporting (on Slack), tagging people where relevant.

Passion

We have a passion and connection to the mission and purpose of WEAll. This passion manifests itself through the energy and commitment we bring to the work and underpins everything we do.

We believe in WEAll’s mission and the need for economic systems change.

Example of habit
We proactively champion the idea of a Wellbeing Economy and WEAll in different arenas.
We bring our unique experiences and passions to the work, proposing new ideas or areas for engagement based on our passions.
We intentionally reflect on how to represent WEAll’s values when speaking or acting on behalf of WEAll with others.

We act out our mission of nurturing and promoting the Wellbeing Economy movement.

Example of habit
We prioritise developing connections within the WEAll membership and wider Wellbeing Economy movement.
We extend ourselves to support our members, hubs, and wider network where possible.

We strive to be aligned between what we say and what we do.

Example of habit
We consider our personal values and the principles of a Wellbeing Economy and align that with the process of how we work.
We work collaboratively to co-create with others outside of the Amp team.

In line with our value of Passion, as often as possible, our communications are:
Celebratory: We share good news, give positive feedback continuously, and celebrate our colleagues’ and our collective achievements.

Care

We take care with how we interact with and treat one another – and ourselves.

We are respectful of other people, working to understand others’ needs.

Example of habit
We give colleagues our attention when they are speaking in a meeting (avoiding using private chats or checking emails.)
We aim to respect colleagues’ non-working hours. When making requests, we only expect a reply when they are working, unless there is a really urgent request that cannot otherwise be handled.
We respond with care and a human-centred approach when people express their needs

We practice Non-Violent Communication (NVC). At its core, this communication approach looks to eliminate judgement and starts communications from an objective, verifiable act whilst looking to articulate our needs, not leaving conversations at the stage of emotions.

Example of habit
We find gentle spaces to provide feedback and workshop ideas, being conscious of how to get the best response from someone
When we challenge other’s ideas or provide constructive feedback, we do not target the other person. We talk about the idea or action and not the person
We Use ‘I’ language — “I feel x when you …” vs. “you do x …”
We are as specific as possible and make an ‘ask’ or offer a potential solution to be discussed so that the discussion can lead to positive and tangible action
We respond to issues in real-time, not letting them fester. We proactively and directly address issues. e.g. putting in an agenda item into a team meeting, putting a message into Slack to start a conversation, or setting up a meeting to address issues when needed (see How We Communicate below)

We strive to see each other’s and our own humanity and to be non-judgmental

Example of habit
We check in on each other – offering a helping hand, creating strong 1-1 relationships with each other
We are honest about how we’re showing up and why so that other members of the team can be aware and help if needed
We encourage each other to show up as our full, authentic selves in all situations and to speak our truths

We care for how our work may impact others, and the needs of the organisation, and proactively follow agreements.

Example of habit
We make it easy for others to collaborate with us. An example of this is saving files in appropriate folders with our naming conventions and sending files as both a link and a pathway name.
We take care in ensuring the security of WEAll’s data etc. e.g. keeping passwords updated, using our password manager, being vigilant about accesses provided, and revoking access as needed.
We make sure to have contingency plans ahead of time – e.g. when [a colleague] is off sick – who takes over, when holiday comes up, making sure things are done ahead of time, all are aware and relevant team members are ready to pick up action items.
We follow the sign-off policy for quality control of event preparations and outward-facing outputs and communications.
We use Slack for quick updates, questions and encouragement rather than email where possible.

We support one another.

Example of habit
We proactively offer support when action items come up that another team member cannot support based on their workload.
We provide appreciation to one another regularly.
We value feedback and take the time to give it in a caring and constructive way (see How We Give Feedback below).

In line with our value of Care, our communications:

  • Offer a challenge, delivered with care: We use questions to clarify and bring proactive solutions, not just challenges. When we bring matters to the team, we seek constructive challenge, not just agreement.
  • Are timely: When we ask things of our colleagues, we build in enough time for them to consider and respond, and we are clear about what we need from them. We consider the impacts of our actions as an organisation on the planet and communities, and aim to keep our carbon footprint as low as possible.
Example of habit
We carefully weigh whether the impact on the environment of decisions about travel, event hosting, and other operating activities is worth the positive impact created by our work.
We take seriously how we can take measures to mitigate impacts on the environment while maximising the positive impact of our work.

Togetherness

We recognise the value of fostering strong and collaborative relationships in order to best deliver on our mission – and act accordingly.

We value togetherness over agreement.

Example of habit
We encourage dialogue and generative discussions for ideas within the Amp team and with our wider network as much as possible.
We work in collaboration with other team members on projects and initiatives whenever possible.

We find ways to foster team togetherness, recognising that in our diversity, we are greater than the sum of our parts.

Example of habit
We prioritise time for team togetherness e.g. Together Mondays and Amp team gatherings – keeping in mind different time zones.
We prioritise time with our Buddies.
We prioritise “fun” in our work, striving to make our activities and meetings as enjoyable as possible.
We celebrate the wins of the team and broader movement.
We value the importance of being together in person and will try to do this twice a year.
We are flexible in our working patterns to ensure that we have enough time together with colleagues in different time zones.

In line with our value of Togetherness, our communications are:

  • ‘Human’: Feelings are welcome and we treat each other with compassion. At the same time, we take responsibility for our feelings and the impact of our moods on a space, knowing that we are empowered to disengage if needed.
  • Non-judgemental: We express our needs and give feedback in a way that does not judge the person, but is based on verifiable acts (relates to Non-Violent Communication – see below).

Equality

The eco supersedes the ego. We believe that to achieve this requires that we all place the ecosystem above the individuals’ ego.

We practice humility.

Example of habit
We recognise that we’re one part of a larger movement and so continuously working in service of “movement” over “WEAll” or our own professional agendas.
We believe the Wellbeing Economy is one way to articulate the outcome we’re working to catalyse. However, we’re open to a diversity of perspectives about HOW to meet the five Needs and create Wellbeing Economies. We don’t “know everything” and we don’t “know best”.
We are honest with each other and with the external world. Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”. And don’t be afraid to ask for help!

We respect and recognise the value of diversity and consider all inputs to have value.

Example of habit
We ask everyone their opinions when having group discussions so everyone has a chance to input and have those inputs seriously considered.
We follow the advice-based process and make decisions as a team as much as possible (recognising there will be some exceptions – see How We Make Decisions below.
We recognise that we will have unconscious biases and work to address them, proactively seeking other perspectives when it seems they are missing.

In line with our value of Equality, our communications embody:

  • Diversity: We respect different learning and communication styles and design spaces and processes to suit a variety of styles and needs.
  • Active listening: We value equality of voice, and use listening rounds in meetings to ensure everyone is heard. We deeply listen to each other.

Discussion

Comment on our forum: community.radhr.org

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