In the world of corporate culture there are a lot of words that can feel interchangeable, or be overlooked. There are often very subtle differences which will sit behind their use. To help you plan your approach to launching your own Active Ethos, here is a glossary of the words and terms you’ll encounter.
Vision
The guiding ambition for your organisation that gives everyone something to get behind, and makes it worth their while to live your values. Essential for leadership.
Purpose
Your reason for being - why you are here, why you bother, what sits at the heart of your organisation. Simon Sinek calls it your ‘why’.
Mission
Also your unique purpose, your reason for being, that sets you apart from your peers. Your mission statement sets it out in clear and accessible terms.
A note on purpose and mission: Personally I feel that mission is planned and active, whereas purpose is rather more intuitive and internal. For example, my own purpose is 'to prosper, and cause others to prosper', whereas my mission is to instil Active Ethos wherever teams are a stranger to high-performing culture.
Active Ethos
The process of defining and phrasing the ethos and bringing it to life fully and sustainably in every aspect of your organisation.
Ethos
The spirit of place - a driving force that defines your approach, attitude and ambitions
Values
These are the things that are important to you - your principles and standards. It’s important to set values that you feel in your belly or you’ll find them hard to stick to.
Culture
This is the behavioural environment you create that carries your values through your people. This really is the big ticket item, which the 'active' part of ActiveEthos is designed to address.
Behaviours
This is the way your culture is carried into the world - instilling your ethos is essential to inform those behaviours.
Ethics
Similar to values, these are your principles and moral choices.
Actions
The real-world, day to day, active deliverables by your team.
Beliefs
These are the things you and your team hold to be true, for right or wrong.
Credo
This is one essential, over-riding belief which in its way is as important as your vision. Larkenby's is that 'everything good should flourish'.
Mantra
A phrase that encourages and sustains your team when resilience is needed, or the going gets tough. This might be your why, or your credo, or something based on personal outcomes and rewards.
Brand
Your brand is the intuitive articulation of your culture, how people perceive you and the expectations they have of your approach, quality, service and product.
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