Stamatis, Grigoris and... Values

Welcome to the 122nd edition of “In Touch”. As always, I would love to continue the conversation so please hit reply and let me know what you think.

Story of the Week: “Stamatis, Grigoris and... Values"

At kindergarten, my four-year-old twins have learned a clever way to understand traffic lights. Their teachers have personified the colours: Stamatis for red – stop, and Grigoris for green – go.

Now, whenever we’re out driving, they’ll shout it out from their back seat. “Stamatis! Grigoris!” Stop! Go! Their voices are sometimes even louder than the horn of the car behind me.

And why is that driver beeping? Because here in Cyprus, there seems to be an unwritten rule, which states (correctly) that when the light is red you stop and people can cross the road but (incorrectly) that once they’ve crossed, even before the light changes to green, it’s time for the cars behind you to start their impatient honking. They don’t want to wait a few more seconds for the green light... they want you to move. Now.

It’s easy to give in and move forward but on one particular day, I stayed put. My kids were still shouting what their teacher had taught them: Stamatis. We had to stay where we were, watching for the green light. By waiting, I wasn’t just following the rule. I was giving my children a positive example to show that what they had learned at school was right.

And it made me think: if such simple rules can guide children with clarity, imagine what clear values can do for adults in leadership.

It’s when the world around us is impatient and the pressure to bend the rules is strong that leadership values matter most. They provide us with the standard of how to act. Values give us clarity.

Here’s a quick question: "Would you rob a bank if you knew that no-one would ever find out?" If your answer is yes, it represents one set of values. If your answer is no, that’s a very different set of values! Either way, once you know that you would choose yes or no, you can also be sure of how you will act when pressure is being applied to you.

Values matter. They remove hesitation, they shape instinct and they make sure that when the car horns are beeping behind you, you will not be swayed. You will know exactly what the right thing to do is and you’ll do it.

Words of Wisdom

“Values are what guide your behaviour when no-one is looking and you don’t think anyone will ever find out.” Carly Fiorina

“Good values are like a magnet – they attract good people.” John Wooden

“When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.” Roy E. Disney

A Question to Ponder, dear friend.

When was the last time you faced pressure to bend the rules? Did your values guide you – or did the noise around you take over?