name the hidden x-th value

If you defined a set of core values for your team at the outset - bravo, leader. Now you’re somewhere in the messy middle of your work. It’s worth taking a beat and asking, “what is the hidden x-th value of my team?”

You can ask this question descriptively and prescriptively. Descriptively, you’re looking at the work as it has unfolded. You’re looking for the move your very best people consistently make - the thing they do that gets results. That thing is an illustration of the 4th value.

Prescriptively, you’re asking - what move is missing from the repertoire of even my best people? What is our current context / market / goal asking of us now that our founding context / market / goal wasn’t? The move that answers that call, that meets that demand, represents your x-th value.

Once you have a sense of what that value is, it’s a good idea to call your people’s attention to it. You don’t have to officially add the 4th value to the team’s existing set of core values. You probably should say “hey, this is a key to our success. Person Y does this consistently - here’s an example. I’m going to be looking for this from all of you. Be like Person Y [in this regard].”

This is also a task you can assign your top people. Have them identify the 4th value and share with you their plan for scaling the practice of that value across their teams. Don’t let the xth value stay a secret or become an insiders’ password. Open source it.

-Eric