Q: What are the shared values that the company or team have in an inspired IT environment? 

Similarly, what are the behaviors or conditions that threatened this environment?

NG
IT Strategy & Globalization Professional in the Auto Industry

The right culture fits the economic footprint of the business.

Hi NG

 Values need to match the context (how the company competes).  There are no universal values of great companies or IT environments. 

Sure, that’s not what you usually read in business books, but what you usually hear doesn’t work well either. 

Read more and see if you agree...

Example A:  Rigger

If you work in a CMM level 5 software house in India, the most important value is a passion for the scientific method.  Data is used to make hypotheses and decisions.  Everyone follows the facts, wherever they lead.  People love eliminating defect rates, cutting costs, improving processes.  Rigger and logic reign.

Behaviors/values that conflict:  Creativity for the sake of being unique.  Going around processes rather than fixing them.  Being a hero.  Making decisions based on emotions such as fear, frustration, or panic.
 

Example B: Innovation

If you work in a bleeding edge environment, fun, curiosity, and community are highly valued.  Fun is a state closely related to creativity.  Imagination, possibility, and curiosity all go together.  Community is important because people need be together 10 hours a day with open minds.  They need to trust one another and be free to be a little kooky. 

Behaviors/values that conflict:  Negative attitudes, critical and judgmental thoughts, an overly controlling leader (unless he or she is a genius heads and shoulders above everyone else), being too nice, just to get along, a need to look good, too much personal ambition.

Example C:  SaaS

A SaaS (Software as a Service) company.  Here, an important value is service to others.  Listening to customer suggestions will affect margins and morale.  IT people need to also like people, like building relationships, like helping people, like improving the lives and businesses of others. 

Behaviors/values that conflict:  A sense of arrogance, superiority, scarcity, stinginess, pride…

The right culture fits the economic footprint of the business.   Value vary by group and context.

Hope this helped, NG.

Michael Cushman, The Engaging Guru, can help you master enrolling others with your message, get the goodies of life, and change the world.  www.engagingchange.com