How We Articulated—and Continue Upholding—Our Values
By: Uchicago Inclusive Economy Lab
Tags: Office Culture, Employee Engagement, Teamwork, Values, Equity

By Rita Hirami and Misuzu Schexnider

One of the key takeaways from our strategic planning process in 2019 was the need for the Inclusive Economy Lab to articulate our value statements. We embarked on a staff-led process that involved all of our staff and leaders. Here’s how we did it, and how we strive to uphold these values day to day.

Articulating Our Values

The staff held a values workshop using this blog post as inspiration. In preparation, we reviewed values statements from peer organizations and read a quick article about differentiating good values from bad ones. Ninety minutes were not enough for our thoughtful and committed staff to synthesize all contributions, but the post-it and dot sticker method outlined in the blog generated plenty of data that helped a smaller group of Values Team members (see below) finalize the list.

We ultimately settled on the following five values:

1. Conduct science in service of cities: We feel a sense of urgency to do research that improves people’s lives. We select projects that lead to solutions for policy, practice, and increased investments on the ground. Our research is rigorous and informed by the historic and current contexts that shape urban residents’ lives. 2. Foster lasting relationships: We collaborate with policymakers, practitioners, and people with lived experience to understand multiple perspectives and figure out what works. 3. Elevate equity & inclusion: We aim to hire people with a range of personal and professional backgrounds, skillsets, and identities. We expand access to evaluation for a wider set of organizations and we conduct work that affirms the dignity of all people. 4. Check our privilege: We recognize the power and privilege we have as members of the University of Chicago. We practice humility and recognize that expertise comes in many forms and there are limits to our own. 5. Embrace a growth mindset: We invest in our people and develop our skills and content knowledge together. We work respectfully as a team to achieve our shared goals.

Upholding Our Values

It was important to us that we not only articulated our values, but actively worked to uphold them through our work. In the years following the values’ implementation, the Inclusive Economy Lab has undertaken a number of efforts to incorporate the values into our day-to-day work:

1. Created a team responsible for championing the values.

As we identified goals for the values work, we simultaneously put together a team of volunteers who felt passionately about the lab achieving these goals.

Led by the project manager accountable for the values in our operating plan, the Values Team is open to all lab staff members and interns and meets monthly to advance goals designed to strengthen the lab’s commitment to the values. Meetings focus on high-level decision-making and discussion, such as identifying our approach to accomplishing a specific goal, co-developing materials, or debriefing on a recent work event. Team members volunteer to take on action items between meetings.

It was important to have many staff specifically dedicated to this work on a regular basis in order to move it forward in a timely manner. Since the values are meant to impact every aspect of our work, we needed varied perspectives and roles represented on the committee. As of this writing, the team is made up of about 12 staff members at all levels of the organization, in roles ranging from project management to data analysis to operations.

2. Implemented the “Values Syllabus” activity to expand ownership of the values.

In summer 2020, the lab began holding monthly all-staff discussions of issues of equity. Every month, a rotating team selects a reading, podcast, or video that relates to our work and values, which the entire staff consumes and discusses in a group setting. Each staff member participates as a discussion leader every six months. The readings and discussions provide opportunities for staff to wrestle with topics they may not otherwise grapple with, expand our knowledge base, and build shared language for future discussions; these include any relevant viewpoints, regardless of whether or not we agree with them.

The syllabus provides a regular, dedicated time for the whole lab to discuss issues related to the values and expand our knowledge base. In addition, this activity allows each staff member to take some ownership over the values, as every staff member must lead syllabus discussions over time. (See our Values Syllabus at the bottom of this post.)

Excerpt from the results of a staff survey on perceptions of the syllabus activity.

3. Began regular, public acknowledgment of team members for upholding the values.

In early 2020, we developed a system for regularly acknowledging staff for living out the values through their work. Any staff member can submit a values recognition for any other staff member, which are read out weekly at staff meetings. These “Values Recognitions” are meant to express gratitude, keep the values top-of-mind, and demonstrate the varied ways the values can be upheld.

4. Incorporated the values into the self-evaluation and goal-setting process.

Excerpt from self-evaluation form.

All staff members are required to submit formal self-evaluation and goal-setting worksheets on a yearly basis, reflecting on their work over the past year and their plans for the upcoming year. In September 2020, the Values Team modified those worksheets to include explicit references to the values, prompting staff to think about ways they upheld the values through their work and to include considerations of inclusion and equity into their annual goal-setting process. Including the values in the formal evaluation process is important in demonstrating that the values are essential to our work and each individual’s role, rather than an optional component of the work.

5. Developed an orientation process to familiarize new staff with the values

The Values Team developed a presentation introducing their role and describing the values and the efforts the lab is undertaking to uphold them. All new hires within their first week meet with a member of the Values Team to discuss this presentation as part of their formal onboarding. In addition to showing our dedication to the values, this orientation introduces staff to the values-related efforts they will be required to participate in (such as the syllabus and the goal setting) and serves as recruitment to the Values Team.

6. Added the values to our recruitment and communication plans.

Members of the values team designed pieces describing the values and added them to the website and the physical office, in order to keep the values top-of-mind. We also added the values to every new job posting, and have seen candidates that are more aligned to our values as a result.