Our Core Values: Be a Cheerleader

Our Core Values: Be a Cheerleader

ByJames Laws

This post is a message that I wrote for our team to provide additional clarity and meaning into our core values and is a part of a series that was started with our article Establishing Core Values that Actually Impact Your Business.

Our second core value has definitely been the most clearly defined since the day we started this company. I have always told our team to “Be a Cheerleader” and not a critic. When others throw knives, we throw high fives. Being a cheerleader is so much more than giving a high-five or congratulating someone for an accomplishment though.

To be a cheerleader means doing anything we can to add to the positive energy that already exists or countering the negative energy that someone might be dealing with. Being a cheerleader is about creating and building up and avoiding tearing down.

When you think of being a cheerleader you should think about the following words and phrases.

  • Positivity
  • Warmth
  • Safety
  • Assuming the Best
  • Reinforcement
  • Celebration
  • Encouragement
  • Security
  • Shelter

These words have a lot in common. They all say that no I matter what you are facing, I got you.

  • Need someone to celebrate with you? I’ve got you!
  • Need a shoulder to cry on? I’ve got you!
  • Need someone to defend you? I’ve got you!
  • Just need someone to listen to you? I’ve got you!
  • Need some time to process? I’ve got you!

This is the person I want to be. This is the company I want to lead. These are the people I want to work with. I’m not perfect. I don’t live this 100% of the time. I often fall short of the expectations I set for myself. But I want to be better. I want us all to be the best versions of ourselves that we can possibly be.

In order for this to be more the reality than the aspiration, we need to work on it together. Challenge each other when we fall short. Be a cheerleader to each other… to be a cheerleader. The positivity will multiply. It will get easier and easier every day. It will be contagious.

So perhaps some questions are in order. Is this the company you want to work with? Is this the company you want to invite others to work with? Is this the energy you want the community at large to notice about us? If your answer is yes, great! Because I think it’s who we are today. But I know it’s also the thing we have to protect in our current cultural climate.

It’s so easy to become cynical and critical of others. It’s sometimes easier to write off others as idiots, or worse, malicious. It’s even easier to get caught up in our own lives, challenges, and simple day to day that we miss the challenge others are facing. We become nearsighted to everyone around us. We spend more time inward than outward. But that is not who we are so we must nurture our values and protect against cynicism. But how?

Practical Ways to Be a Cheerleader

  • Give out shoutout on social media
  • Give a shoutout in basecamp or ask us to give one on OnRamp
  • Send a personal message checking in on another partner
  • Offer to help with a challenge that might not even be related to you
  • Take a customers issue to completion
  • Give explicit credit in a change log
  • Encourage someone to take some time for themselves when dealing with a challenge

The more you support others, the less you are able to be cynical of them. The more you pour out positivity, the more full you will be of it yourself. These are just a few ways we can be a cheerleader. I would love to hear your suggestions as well.

Be Cheerable

I know that’s not a word, but go with it. As partners, this core value is a two way street. There are ways you can help your fellow partners practice the traits of a cheerleader. Be cheerable. In other words, put yourself out there and be visible. Here are some suggestions.

  • Participate in automatic check-ins
  • Participate in Message Board threads
  • Talk about the work you are accomplishing
  • Share details about your life. The good, the bad, the messy. Your fellow partners care.
  • Let people know when you are stuck
  • Practice transparency whenever appropriate

Any other suggestions here?

Well, that’s the second core value at Saturday Drive. By name it doesn’t seem like much, but the implications of it are anything but insignificant. Want to change the world and release more positivity into your own life?

Go out there and Be a Cheerleader!