What do you believe?

What does your organisation believe and why does it matter?

Simon Sinek, author, thought leader, TED speaker, argues that “as individuals, colleagues and companies, everything that we say and do is a symbol of who we are. Trust emerges when you are surrounded by people who believe in what you believe, when we - as a group, a country, a company - share a common set of values and beliefs. Say what you believe and you will attract the people who believe what you believe. Forget about team workshops and company focus groups and “Who should we be?”- questions. It is only when we know what we believe and communicate our beliefs authentically that we can attract others to our cause, customers to our brand and form the bonds that will empower us to achieve truly great things.”

Sharing what you believe with others is communicating a promise. Example: “we believe that people are more than just a function of their job”. This tells others that your team or branch or company sees people as more than their jobs. The actions of that same team, branch or company then reveal the commitment to that promise. Is it genuine or an empty promise? Does the company really believe that or are they just saying it? It becomes a test and customers, colleagues and communities will judge your success.

Stating your beliefs forces some degree of accountability and the judge of an organisation’s or company’s success to commit to its beliefs is the customer, client or community who you share your beliefs with. They will tell you if they believe something different or if your beliefs are not aligned with your actions - often by not buying your product, distancing themselves or by declining to engage with you at all. If a not for profit organisation states that it believes everyone has the right to be heard and there are things we can all do to give more people a voice in the community, this belief might resonate with some and not others. If we believe it, if we feel it and connect with it, and see the actions of the organisation align with this belief, then we might engage with the idea and with the organisation.

If a government department believes all people matter, it’s actions align with the belief, and we believe in the same idea, we might engage with the department inspired by this simple belief and how they commit to it.

Stating what you believe, and taking action which aligns with your belief, includes all those who believe it too. It’s outward facing. Beliefs are about connecting with and including others in an idea. Building a community of likeminded people. Whereas questions like “who do we want to be?” or “what do we want to be known for?” are inward facing, they’re about us, what WE want or think about ourselves and how we want to be seen.

So why does it matter?

Because business is about people. All organisations want to connect with people, with customers and clients, communities and colleagues. And we can achieve this through stating our beliefs, beliefs aligned with our actions, beliefs that inspire others to act and connect, beliefs that raise the bar, helping us all to rise and be part of something bigger, something better, something meaningful, something critical, something we want to be part of.

And it matters to me personally because I believe in a better, more inclusive world. I want the organisation I work for to state a big, bold, positive belief about what our organisation stands for and to take action to commit to it. And I want to attract others who believe what I believe.