As I was reading “How to Link Personal Values with Team Values,” it reminded me of my internship. When setting up for event days, I would rather get everything done before lunch so that the set up is ready. But, the team I work with would rather spread out the work throughout the day. This text showed me that although neither opinion is wrong about when to do the work, people value different work ethics. My personal values might differ from my team, but we can all work together to compromise and get the work done efficiently.

“How to Link Personal Values with Team Values” also reminded me of J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit. In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins adventures with a company of dwarfs who are not similar to him. Bilbo values safety, comfort, and the easy path where as the dwarfs valued courage, strength, and never giving up. The differences of values between these characters did cause conflict, but in the end this team worked together to use their differences, “Values provide a language and way of understanding individual differences. They also help open the door for nonjudgmental acceptance of different ways of doing things. Values are powerful motivators. They represent an organizing principle for people’s lives, as well as for organizations” (How to Link Personal Values with Team Values, pg.3). Once the team realized their differences, they accepted them in a loving way to link their personal values to their team values.

Finally, this reading reminded me of environmental companies like Patagonia. Patagonia values making their products environmentally safe and sustainability. To ensure their company values are sought out, they built a strong work environment and hire employees who share the same values. Patagonia linked their personal values to their team values by successfully promoting and demonstrating their values.