Do you have a strategy that will help your team internalize values? (120-2)

Too often a leader’s core values are just statements written on a wall plaque or talked about at meetings. Wise leaders want their team to understand and apply the established core values. Read Nehemiah 8:8, 13; 9:38 and 10:28-30.

The value system and code of conduct of the Jews living in Judah during Nehemiah’s rule found its basis in writings of Moses. The Jews believed God gave Moses the instructions directly and Moses wrote them down for all future generations to live by. These writings are so profound that most of the laws of the United States yet today find their roots in them. Nehemiah’s leadership challenge was to insure the laws were not just words in a few books stored in the temple but a living code of conduct applied in daily life.

A few elements leaders can learn from Nehemiah that will help make their core values more widely applied among their team:

• Even though Nehemiah had been the central leadership figure during the construction of the wall, he had the leadership savvy to delegate the task of educating the people to the experts in the law, namely the religious leaders, Ezra the priest and the Levites that served in the temple. Wise leaders utilize delegation, using the proper members of the team for specific tasks.
• Nehemiah and Ezra knew it was critical that every individual old enough to understand be educated in Moses’ writings, however, they started by teaching the leaders. According to 8:13, “Now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priest and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law.”
• The process of understanding did not come overnight. According 8:18, “Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God.” Nehemiah did not rush the teaching process. Gaining understanding takes time, learning is a process and life application of learning takes constant reinforcement of the facts and constant restatement reminding everyone of the goals.

Do you have written core values available for your team? Do you have a plan to help every individual understand what they are and why they were chosen? Do you have a strategy that will help your team internalize the values as their own?