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Values and Regulations
By
Joan E. Thompson |
Plymouth
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I read an amazing true
story recently that points up the difference between
Regulations and Values. When we have shared values, we don’t
need the kind of rules most of us are used to – you know,
the kind someone always figures out a way to break? I’d like
to share it with you. Maybe you will experiment with how it
might apply to your own New Year Resolutions – and create a
2010 better than you might have hoped.
Margaret Wheatley, a noted researcher, consultant, and
author, told the following true story in her 2005
publication “Finding Our Way.” In her work, a principal gave
her the heart-warming example of creativity and commitment
flourishing in an unexpected environment – his own Middle
School. Students, faculty and staff in that community had
all agreed upon three rules of conduct: “Take care of your
self. Take care of this place. Take care of each other.”
The rules were based on the shared value of respect – of
self, each another, and “place.”
Specific enough to keep everyone connected and focused;
general enough to allow for individual and diverse responses
to any situation.
The principal reported that after the building had to be
evacuated during a rainstorm, he returned to the building
last and was greeted by eight hundred pairs of shoes in the
lobby. The children had decided, spontaneously and
creatively, how to “take care of this place.” If they took
“Take care of your self ” and “Take care of each other” to
heart as well, not only would the school stay mud free, they
would be able to retrieve their shoes successfully, too!
Holding shared values might be presumed as we congregate in
communities of Faith or services for others. But sharing an
activity to serve the hungry, homeless, or any other group
is not the same thing as sharing a value. Discovering our
shared values is the real challenge.
Agreeing to “help” is not a value. It’s an activity. If the
helping comes from a place of respect and valuing of each
another despite differences in outlook or beliefs, then we
can be said to share the value of respecting each other. In
the midst of working together, we will disagree. We cannot
see why someone does things a certain way – especially when
it makes little sense compared to how we would do it. Can we
suspend our own “certainties” long enough to listen to those
of others, respectfully? If we share “respect” not just with
“clients” but our own peers and coworkers, it will be
easier.
When we touch – and stay in touch – with shared values, we
make a way to honor them – even in the muddy yards of life.
May 2010 find you sharing values that enable your family,
your friends, and your co-workers (be they paid or unpaid!)
to work together in ways that honor what you all value most!
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About The Author
Joan
Thompson is the Executive Director for Mayflower RSVP, Inc.,
a non-profit organization mobilizing Volunteer Service
Activities in Plymouth County. She has directed RSVP’s
Retired & Senior Volunteer Program for nearly 30 years,
working with 200 public/private, health, human service, and
educational organizations to provide meaningful volunteer
service opportunities for members in the RSVP program. She
is a trainer in Volunteer Systems Management for local and
national organizations and a member of AVA, the
international Association for Volunteer Administration. She
may be contacted at RSVP’s Plymouth County headquarters via
telephone at (508) 746 -7787 or by email at MayflowerRSVP@
Verizon.net.
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