Jessica has been a news reporter on a popular regional newspaper for several years. She has a great reputation for getting the bigger stories. She gets depth into her articles, and is always able to link to the human side of a story. Her readers love her.
Inside the newspaper, Jessica also has a reputation. Rather a maverick figure, Jessica bends the rules when doing that allows her to get the real story. A few of her colleagues have become a little jealous of her, as Jessica seems to be the “Teflon Woman” – she can get away with just about anything, because she’s such a great reporter. As she sees it, better to ask forgiveness than permission!
Jessica’s Head of Current Affairs knows Jessica well. He knows he needs to give her the space she needs in which to operate. For a long time, he’s turned a blind eye to some of her operating practices, because, bottom line, her copy sells newspapers.
The news in the newsroom spreads like wild-fire. The Head of Current Affairs has been replaced. Taking over his role is a young guy in his 30’s, a high-flyer with an MBA, someone who wants to climb high and fast.
Brent – the new Head of Current Affairs – immediately starts to stamp his mark on the newsroom. He wants more accountability, better structure, and better visibility of who is doing what. Brent’s objectives are to manage costs down, while creating a better news focus.
To accomplish the first objective, all expenses must be accounted for with proper receipts. Overtime must be approved before it’s taken. And, travel must also be approved in advance.
For the second objective, Brent sets up a new system, whereby all the news reporters gain approval for any news stories they believe will sell papers. Brent’s guidance will ensure that the news policy of the paper is protected and enhanced, through reporters focusing on those specific interest areas.
Jessica is aghast. She feels that all her creativity and previous success has been ignored, and that her wings have been clipped by Brent. Having been used to running with a story based on gut instinct, spending a little to loosen tongues and moving around the region to make progress on a story, now Jessica feels that she’s totally reeled in by this guy, not long out of college, who doesn’t know one end of a printing press from another.
Two very different views: on the one hand, Jessica wants the freedom back to let her be good at the job she loved doing. On the other hand, Brent needs to know where his people are, and more importantly, what his team are doing.
So – who would you side with? Jessica, or Brent?
Think about it – there’s no “right” or “wrong” answer to this question – it’s simply who you would side with.
Made up your mind? Good!
So now do something else. Think about your own personal Values. What
are they?
Might they include: Discipline, Trust, Commitment, Responsibility, Balance, Clarity, Duty, Logic, Order, Efficiency or Authority?
Or might they include: Passion, Determination, Courage, Imagination, Spirit, Creativity, Adventure, Exploration, Competition, Curiosity, Mystery, Expression, Freedom, Initiative, Spontaneity, Flexibility, Confidence, Luck or Tenacity?
If your Values tend to be in the first list, you’ll probably have sided with Brent. If your Values fell more in the second list, you’re more likely to have sided with Jessica.
So what does this tell us? Clearly, decisions we make each and every day are made on the basis of our personal Values. In business, or at home, this can cause conflict if a strong Value we have is in contrast to a Value others hold. So maybe finding consensus means finding Values we have in common with each other, so we can agree on a decision that we can all live with.
The Values Blog 