Forward Found Company Values
What are values?
Values are meaningful directions that impact the behaviors we engage in. They represent the things that are important to us in our lives. Values are meant to last, though they may change over time. What is important in childhood may be strongly influenced by one’s parents or caregivers, whereas values in adulthood may differ from what was taught in childhood. Or, there may be glimmers of childhood values present in adulthood. For example, one may value family in childhood and genuine connection in adulthood.
People may have different values for their personal or professional lives. For example, one might value organization professionally, and self-expression and creativity personally. Depending on what these mean to the individual, their personal and professional lives may look very different. Alternatively, a person might value honesty in both their personal and professional life. There is no one right way to “do” or “have” values, but it is important for individuals and organizations to identify their values and associated behaviors or goals.
Values vs. Goals
Values themselves are not behaviors, but they help to shape behavior as we seek to live in alignment with our values. Values are a direction, and goals are the steps we take to move in that direction.
Gratitude is a good example of this. “Being grateful” is not very objective. However, it allows us to set clear, objective goals. Someone with gratitude as a core value may commit to writing in a gratitude journal every day, thanking their employees after completing their job responsibilities, or sending one thank you card in the mail each month. These are objective ways that a person can show gratitude, and these can all be measured.
Why are values important?
When a person has identified their values, they can begin to engage in behaviors that bring them more in alignment with those values. When an organization has identified their values, every decision for everyone involved in the organization should engage in behaviors that align with these values.
Berkout (2021) discusses the effect values can have on reinforcers. When we leverage values, our behavior can be influenced by long-term reinforcers even when short-term aversives are present. This occurs because coming in alignment with our values is reinforcing and the reinforcing power of our values overcomes the aversives. For example, if kindness is a value and a person is rushing to get to a meeting, they may be influenced to hold the door for the person behind them, even if it makes them 30 seconds later than they originally would have been.
What are the Forward Found company values?
Personalized Growth
We know that everyone is different. Everyone has different learning histories, needs, and desired outcomes. When working to shape professionals or seeking to change organizational processes, Forward Found is dedicated to honoring the unique needs, passions, goals, and challenges we encounter.
Inclusive Opportunity
We believe in expanding the field and making growth more accessible for those underrepresented in the field of behavior analysis. One way we do this is by partnering with organizations and universities to provide supplemental supervision, as opposed to expecting everyone to pay for their own individual supervision.
Exploration & Resilience
Supervision and mentorship allows a safety net while experimenting with new interests. It is important to us that our clients are able to experiment and adapt so they may face challenges with confidence.
When I (Maddie) started working under Shauna in 2022, I was convinced that I would work in autism for the rest of my life. When I began showing an interest in consumer behavior analysis, Shauna encouraged me to follow that newfound passion until it either fizzled out or grew into my new career path.
Purpose & Impact
We believe that success is defined by aligning aspects of our careers, strategies, and organizations with our deeper values. When we have identified our personal values, we can use this in our career searches to locate organizations that complement our values.
Moving Forward
Forward Found is committed to forwarding the field of behavior analysis by helping students and early-career professionals explore areas of practice outside of clinical work. We have experience guiding students in the following areas and skills:
Instructional design
Sports and physical fitness
Marketing
Project management
Leadership
Communication
Problem solving
Time management
Strategic thinking
Our goals are to continue to fellowship young or aspiring professionals in new and unique areas. We hope to do this by acknowledging personal learning histories, reducing barriers to accessing supervision and mentorship, helping our mentees explore new areas, and aligning professional goals and development with personal values.
