When I came across this article from business coach Paul Lemberg called "What's Valuable about Having Values?", it spurred me to reflect on my personal and professional values as well as my organizational values. Here are my key takeaways from the article:

• Values and beliefs impact the decisions we make. If we can articulate our values and beliefs well, then our decisions and the basis of them are more easily communicated as well and more likely to be understood.
• Discussing our personal and professional values with our teams and noting points of convergence and divergence can help us work together in more meaningful ways by gaining a deeper understanding of each team member's motivating forces.
• Creating and documenting an organizational values statement allows us to align and audit our action plans for consistency with those values.
• "Well understood and clearly expressed values can propel [us] through the most difficult change periods, and keep [us] far ahead of the wandering herd."

If you haven't done so recently, why not take some time to reflect on your personal, professional, and organizational values and involve your team in values-based dialogue? It could not only enhance your shared understanding, but also help drive strategic organizational decisions.

Tip submitted by Laura Deaton.