Core values…you know, those things that hang on a wall in every corporate office or in the lobby of virtually any business that you come across. How much do those things mean to you?
My guess would be not that much. I get it, because I used to scoff at that stuff. Core values, I mean, who cares….
It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in them for me, but I didn’t typically believe them for that business. The reason was that when you read through them, you’re pretty much fighting off sleep by the third line because they are so brutally boring.
Looking back on the evolution of my business, I always had core values but I never really put them on paper because I felt that was so cheesy and that diluted the value. Basically I just operated my business out of how I would want people to treat me in business and in life.
You may be wondering why I’m even talking about this. I mean, I run fitness locations, right?
Yes and no.
In our Durbrow Performance Training programs, it’s more than fitness. We tell our new clients that come through the doors that we will take care of you from A to Z. We don’t care how much weight you can lift, we care that when you leave our facility after that hour, that you feel like a better human being. A stronger, more confident, more energized and alert version of yourself.
Of course lifting more weight is great and we’re all about wins. We love celebrating with you when you hit a PR (personal record) or when you conquer an exercise that you had been struggling with.
Many people are nervous about coming into a group setting, for fear that they will need to “keep up.”
I get that, because that’s the portrayal of fitness these days. Go harder, do more, kill yourself and oh yeah, compete with that person next to you no matter what the scenario is.
That’s the sexy stuff, but that doesn’t last. It doesn’t hold up year after year or continue to bring clients into your training family (that’s what we call it) that stay for 5,6,7+ years.
So back to the core values….I wanted to share with you a little bit of the inner workings of the Durbrow Performance team and family. I’m truly blessed to have a team that shares my core vision and values.
We did an exercise where we each wrote down 3 traits or personal values that meant the most to us. I was then going to compile them into our new, simplified and meaningful version of the core values.
A very cool thing happened during this exercise. Without prompting, all three of my coaches presented me with their values and they were all some variation of the same set of words. Very cool, and it left me with very little work to do 🙂
Here are our real to the core, how we operate every day, core values:
Authenticity
Accountability
Bravery
Compassion
Courage
Humble
Integrity
Trust
What these core values mean to us:
Authenticity: be who you are, be honest in your words and stay true to your values
Accountability: do what you said you would do
Compassion: meet people where they are at, not where you want them to be. Listen, understand and do not judge
Courage: stand up for yourself and for others, help others who are not confident, help clients get past their fears and be brave for them
Humble: be confident in your skills but not arrogant, be respectful of other people’s needs and/or problems
Integrity: stay true to the values of yourself but also the values that the program embodies
Trust: have faith in yourself and faith in your team. Understand the team has your back and everyone is on the same page. Show up for people so you can always earn their trust
I typically don’t spend a lot of time writing about “me” or “us,” meaning the coaches at the DPT program and it’s not because I don’t think every single person is valuable. I just believe that client experience is paramount. Our clients bring so many amazing stories, breakthroughs, events and fun that I can’t help but show that.
I’m also so happy to know that my team backs me up 100% on this. We are not the Instagram selfie posting, all about me kind of crew. That’s just not how we roll. It’s a beautiful kind of confidence that shines through in that light. Why say “look at me” when you can say “look at you” or “look at us.”
The fitness industry is a cocky, scary place. I believe in general that trainers and coaches SCARE the shit out of someone who wants to get in shape. Why intimidate and make it even scarier by posting hard core workouts or half naked selfies?
If that’s your thing then cool, but my point is…does it align with your true self? It takes a long time to figure this stuff out, but usually it comes back to the original core of YOU. What means something to you, because that probably means something to someone else.
Live it and surround yourself with people who live it every day also.
