The Bottom Line - Spring 2018 - 5

CFO'S JOURNAL
class" and a great place to work. Through
discussions, numerous presentations
and other opportunities for feedback
with all OCFO employees, we developed
a set of values to define the culture of
the OCFO. Those values, seen in various forms in the OCFO workplace, are
what we call our SMARTER Values. They
reflect the organization we want. The
value statement developed in this process calls upon each of us individually
to be responsible for promoting this value-based culture and for working every
day to exemplify the values outlined in
the following statement: Each day, I will
strive to provide the highest standard of
service to the residents, businesses, visitors, and the government of the District
of Columbia by being SMARTER.
Defining the desired values of a culture
is only the beginning of a very long journey toward achieving them. If you have
ever been part of an organizational culture change, you know that the process
is often slow and comes with its own
stops and starts. Creating a value statement and messaging it through posters, shirts and coffee mugs, is a start,
but alone it will never change culture.
When an organization stops there, culture change stops there. We must understand what the values mean and look
like, model appropriate behavior to each
other, reinforce them through programs
and processes, and reward those actions

SMARTER Values

Service Driven with
a Strong Work Ethic

Motivated and
Mission Focused

Accountable

Respectful of My
Customers and
Co-workers

Trustworthy and
Team-Focused

Empowered to
Achieve Excellence

Results Oriented

and behaviors that exemplify the values.
Understanding the
Meaning of the Values
How do you hire, promote and reward
values if there is not a common understanding of what the values mean? Over
the last few months, at our Tuesday executive staff meetings, we have had long
and intense discussions about each of the
seven SMARTER values, what they each
mean, and where we need to improve.
I expect these discussions to filter down

SPRING 2018 | 5

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Bottom Line - Spring 2018