If your community bank is on a journey to define and/or document your core values, you’ve probably struggled in coming up with a good set of core values. Core values for a community bank seem easy to list out on a whiteboard, core values sheet, poster or paint them on your wall, but really coming up with your core values is at first easy, then difficult.
Core values are already alive and active in your organization. As a leader in your organization, you help define core values and enable them to persist in the organization. Since they are already there, you can’t just come up with “new, aspirational ones” you will need to dig deep and find the core values already alive and active within your organization.
We won’t go into a lesson on coming up with your core values, but we can inspire you with a few ideas from other community banks.
Core Values for a Community Bank
Community Service
Trusted Bankers
Confidential
Customer Service
Financial Stability
Trustworthy
Friendly
Stability
Excellence
Passionate
Values Driven
Easy Going
Flexible
Helpful
Responsive
Service Oriented
Thoughtful
Collaborative
Efficient
Focused
Positive
Proactive
Community
Considerate
Friendly
Generous
Compassion
Professional
No Jerks
Accountable
Consistent
Dependable
Honest
Integrity
Trustworthy
Innovative
Knowledgeable
Pragmatic
Wise
Do the Right Thing
Struggling to define your organizations core values? We have a few reference materials for you:
The book “The Core Value Equation” by Darius Mirshahzadeh
The book “Traction” by Gino Wickman
Article Harvard Business Review: Make Your Values Mean Something by Patrick M. Lencioni
The Book “Built to Last” by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras
From all the reference material here, the one we strongly recommend is the HBR article by Patrick M. Lencioni. This article will set you on the right path to defining your core values and to verify you aren’t mixing them up with aspirational values, permission-to-play values, and accidental values.
Now, go find your core values! We’ll be here if you need help.
