Live the Values! Team CDOT Members Focus in on the Values

By: Vivian Engen, Process Improvement Intern

October 18, 2018 

Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) employees across the state are completing this activity as part of a 10-minute session to highlight the People Value at CDOT. This is the first of a 6-part CDOT value series that is being rolled out on a monthly basis. Each session that is released will highlight a different CDOT value (People, Excellence, Customer Service, Respect, Integrity, and Safety). The monthly Live the Values! Educational Series presents an opportunity for CDOT to fully integrate our updated values among all employees and to initiate discussion between supervisors and their staff about CDOT values. 

The People Value was the first of the six values to be highlighted in the series. Our goal is for every CDOT employee to complete the session, and reflect on how the People Value applies to the work they do at CDOT. Below, Dan Dahlke, a Professional Engineer II in Pueblo, Jessica Myklebust, a Program Manager II in the Denver Metro Area, and Niles Koenigsberg, an Intern in the Office of Process Improvement at Headquarters reflect on their experience completing the People Value activity with their team.

What did you find valuable about completing the activity?

Dan: “I don’t always recognize or get to hear what my employees enjoy about their jobs. As a manager, this was a really valuable chance to see what interests people and where we should put more effort into developing. I was able to gain some new perspective and insight about where we can improve and grow as a team.”

Jessica: “I liked reading what my staff wrote about how they fit into the CDOT Team.”

Niles: “I really enjoy helping people. It’s one of my passions but sometimes I feel like I lose sight of that in all the chaos that goes on at work. This session really brought back into perspective why I do what I do here at CDOT. I walked away from the session more conscious about looking for ways to help others.”

What did you learn?

Dan: “I gained great insight on what we can we do to inspire and motivate people on our team.”

Niles: “I think the activity forced me to examine the CDOT Values from a different angle, which is really important at a larger organization where sometimes that purpose can get lost in translation. Sometimes I forget the values are supposed to be guiding our work, and this brought it back into perspective for me.”

How did your team members respond to the activity?

Dan: “I got a lot of participation and engagement from my staff. The video and activity spurred a lot of discussion from my team. I think it surprised people that I ran the session because I don’t usually do stuff like this. But I think as additional sessions come out, people will be more comfortable and will know what to expect. The session got people to feel comfortable sitting down and talking with each other about topics that we usually don’t discuss which was really eye-opening.”

Jessica: “Most of my staff completed the session! I think some felt like it was a bit odd, but as more sessions come out I expect people to get more comfortable.”