Are your company's core values dead? 8 ways to bring them to life.
In last week’s blog post, we learned that focusing on shared team goals can mitigate bias and strengthen cohesion. Another way to unify your team is through shared core values.
In other words, regardless of the different backgrounds and experiences on our team, what values do we have in common? What’s most important to us? How does this inform the way we behave? How does this shape team norms?
Many organizations have identified company core values—they're posted on the website and conference room wall, maybe even printed in new employee materials or on coffee mugs. Yet only a few employees can actually recite those values, and even fewer approach their work in a way that very intentionally aligns with those values.
The values are dead, serving no purpose.
So how do you bring them to life? How can you use them as a tool to build alignment, inclusion, and team success?
Here are eight ways to resuscitate and operationalize your company core values.
1. Ensure they are the right values.
Vague, irrelevant, or generic values leave broad room for interpretation and are far from motivating. Here are a few questions to consider:
Are the values tailored to your organization—do they represent what makes you unique and sets you apart? Or are they “permission to play” values (per Patrick Lencioni)? For example, many organizations identify integrity as a core value. Is this an important value? Absolutely! Would nearly every company in the world expect employees to act with integrity? Yes! Use your core values to articulate the principles and beliefs that are unique to you, not to reiterate general professional expectations.
Are they memorable? If the majority of employees can’t recite the values, you have work to do. If you have too many or they’re too generic, consider reducing the list, rewording, or starting from scratch.
2. Articulate supporting behaviors.
What does it look and sound like to live out your core values? Equally important: what does it look and sound like to contradict them?
Example: I had a client identify “Growth” as a core value. To further define this value, they articulated several supporting behaviors, including:
We approach challenges with a growth mindset.
We empower employees knowing growth comes through true ownership.
We commit to developing others and believe in their ability to grow.
3. Tell stories.
Stories bring words to life. If you want to make your values more meaningful, applicable, and inspiring, share real stories of the values in action.
Example: If you have any interest in fashion, then you likely know that Nordstrom is known for its commitment to outstanding customer service. During new employee orientation, instead of memorizing a step-by-step process for delivering great service, new employees listen to stories. They hear true stories of fellow employees going above and beyond to wow customers—like the story of the employee who took back a woman’s two-year-old blouse with no questions asked. They leave inspired to create stories of their own that honor this core value.
4. Weave them into every people process.
Do your values inform your approach to hiring, performance management, promotion practices, and criteria for bonuses? If we believe that values should guide every company decision and employee behavior, then they better be the foundation of every people process.
Example: One of Charles Schwab’s core values emphasizes building trust by acting ethically, empathetically, and proactively. In an interview with the NY Times a few years back, CEO Walt Bettinger shared how he integrates this value into his hiring practices. Strong candidates get invited to join him for breakfast. Walter secretly asks the restaurant to mess up the candidate’s order. He then sits back and watches to see if the candidate's response aligns with the company's values.
5. Establish supporting practices.
In addition to people processes, what other practices can you establish to reinforce the values? We know that establishing systems and practices help drive consistent human behavior—without them, we’re prone to wander.
Example: 3M’s core values communicate a commitment to innovation. To reinforce and nourish this value, 3M allows scientists to spend 15% of their time working on whatever interests them and requires divisions to generate 30% of their revenues from new products introduced in the last four years.
6. Recognize employees for demonstrating values.
This can be as simple as spending five minutes in every weekly staff meeting to celebrate examples of values in action, or as elaborate as an annual awards ceremony (anyone else flashback to the Dundies?). Bottom line: what gets recognized gets repeated.
Example: Southwest Airlines lives and breathes its core values. I could have used them for every example in this post. One of their values is to embrace a “Fun-LUVing attitude”—to have fun and not take themselves too seriously. Perhaps you’ve seen this in action when flying Southwest. With over 1 million YouTube views, SW crew member David Holmes became famous for embracing this value through his highly impressive (and fun) safety briefing.
And in true Southwest fashion, the company chose a rather fun way to recognize his demonstration of the company’s core values in action, naming him the Rhythmic Ambassador of Southwest Culture.
7. Evaluate alignment regularly.
What gets measured gains traction. If we truly believe in our core values and want to behave in a manner that aligns with them, then we need to pause and evaluate alignment regularly. I recommend three forms of evaluation to take place (quarterly, two times per year, or annually). For each, ensure successes are celebrated and opportunities for growth are identified with supporting action plans.
Individual employee self-evaluation: use a formal or informal process to prompt individual self-reflection, followed by small group discussion.
Team assessment: use a formal or informal process to reflect on the collective team’s values alignment.
Organization-wide: gather employee and customer feedback on values alignment. This can be easily integrated with existing employee engagement assessments and customer feedback surveys.
8. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Employees will not automatically reference company core values before every decision unless we start talking about them ALL THE TIME! But when we think of reiterating a message over and over, we immediately worry that repetition will diminish its impact or irritate the audience. First of all, people don’t hear and absorb our words as deeply as we do; so if you repeat it three times, the listener likely absorbed it once. Second, don’t repeat it in the exact same way each time. Be creative!
With eight different strategies to bring your core values to life, there’s no excuse for letting them remain stale any longer. Try one or all—they'll breathe life into your organization.
I'll close with one final example of an organization that has implemented several of these strategies: my daughters' elementary school. Their values are alive and well—you can see, hear, and even feel them. It doesn't take rocket science, but it does take intentionality and consistency.