Category: Leading Culture

If your employees were asked to give an example of your core values in action… would they be able to? 

Most organizations have core values. They’re on websites, in your lobby and lunchroom posters. But far fewer organizations can confidently say those values are consistently seen, felt, and demonstrated in everyday work. 

Core values are more than statements, they are commitments. They define how work gets done, how decisions are made, and how people treat one another. 

When core values resonate with employees, organizations see higher engagement, stronger retention, and greater alignment. In fact, research shows that employees — especially younger generations are more likely to stay with organizations whose values align with their own. 

But here’s the challenge: 

Values only work when they are actively lived. 

According to Gallup: 

• Only 23% of employees strongly agree they can apply their organization’s values to their work 

• Just 27% believe in their organization’s values 

• Only 26% feel their organization consistently delivers on its promises 

That gap between what we say and what we do is where culture either strengthens… or breaks down. 

So how do you close that gap? 

1. Ask for Feedback on Your Core Values

Understanding what motivates your employees is no longer optional, it’s essential. 

As organizations grow and evolve, so should their values. Use focus groups, surveys, and team discussions to understand what matters most to your employees today. This not only provides valuable insight but reinforces that employee voices matter. 

2. Bring Values to Life Through Everyday Experiences

The more employees see values in action, the more meaningful they become. 

Consider ways to make values visible and engaging: 

• “Recognize the Values” challenge: Share stories of values in action 

• Video storytelling: Employees describe what a value means to them 

• Give-back initiatives: Align volunteer work with organizational values 

When values are experienced — not just explained — they stick. 

3. Recognize and Reinforce Values in Action

Recognition is one of the most powerful ways to embed values into culture. 

When leaders and peers consistently call out behaviors that reflect core values, employees begin to understand what those values actually look like in practice. This creates clarity, reinforces expectations, and builds momentum. 

Peer recognition strengthens this even further. Employees often see the day-to-day behaviors leaders may miss, making recognition more authentic and meaningful. 

4. Integrate Values into Branding and Onboarding

Core values should be visible from day one — and consistently reinforced over time. 

Bring values into: 

• onboarding experiences 

• team meetings and communications 

• internal branding and messaging 

• everyday tools and environments 

A strong “culture deck” during onboarding can help translate values into real examples, expectations, and behaviors so employees understand how values show up in their work. 

5. Use Values to Guide Coaching and Conflict

Values are most powerful when used in real moments — especially the challenging ones. 

Whether coaching an employee or navigating conflict, values provide a shared framework for expectations and behavior. They help shift conversations from opinion to alignment: 

• “How does this situation align with our values?” 

• “What would it look like to respond to this using our values?” 

Using values in these moments creates consistency, reduces ambiguity, and reinforces accountability across the organization. 

6. Lean on Values During Challenging Times

The true test of your values isn’t when things are going well — it’s when they’re not. 

During times of uncertainty, pressure, or change, values act as a grounding force. They guide decisions, provide clarity, and help employees understand the “why” behind difficult choices. 

Consistency during challenging times builds trust and credibility — and reinforces that values are not situational. 

7. Hire and Coach for Values Alignment

Values should not only guide how work gets done — they should influence who joins your organization. 

Incorporate values into your hiring process by asking candidates how they interpret your values or how they’ve demonstrated similar principles in past roles. 

Then reinforce those values through ongoing coaching. When employees understand how their work connects to something meaningful, it strengthens engagement, performance, and retention. 

Core values are not just words in a brochure or statements on a wall. They define how your organization shows up — internally and externally. 

The organizations that succeed are not the ones with the best-written values. They are the ones that consistently bring those values to life through everyday actions. 

Culture is not built through posters or presentations. 
It is built through small, consistent moments — how we recognize, how we coach, how we decide, and how we respond. 
Core values only work when they show up in those moments. 

In our work with organizations, we hear the word culture used a lot; often to describe perks, engagement programs, or mission statements. 

But culture is none of those things by themselves. 

Culture is what actually happens here.
It’s the daily habits, behaviors, decisions, and conversations that shape how work gets done, how people feel, and what results are produced. 

Or, as Peter Drucker famously said: 

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” 

You can have a strong strategy — but if your culture doesn’t support it, it won’t stick. 

That’s why this year we’re focusing intentionally on culture — not as a buzzword, but as a leadership practice. This post kicks off a year-long series exploring what culture really is, how it forms, how it drifts, and how leaders can shape it on purpose rather than by accident. 

What Is Culture, Really? 

Culture isn’t your perks. It isn’t your slogans. It isn’t what’s written on your website or posted on your wall. 

In our work, we often define culture as: 

• What gets talked about — and what doesn’t 

• What gets rewarded — and what gets ignored 

• What gets addressed — and what gets tolerated 

• How decisions are made 

• How conflict is handled 

• How people are treated when things go wrong 

In short: culture is the operating system of your organization. 

Healthy, intentional cultures tend to operate with: 

• Clear purpose and direction 

• Service to others over ego 

• Open, honest communication 

• Accountability paired with care 

• Psychological safety and trust 

Unintentional cultures tend to drift into: 

• Silos and us-vs-them thinking 

• Entitlement or disengagement 

• Fear of speaking up 

• Inconsistent standards 

• Quiet resignation 

Most cultural challenges we see don’t start with bad intent. They start with inattention. 

“Culture Starts at the Top” — and Then Spreads Everywhere 

The phrase “culture starts at the top” doesn’t mean leaders create culture alone — but it does mean they set the tone. Leaders shape culture through: 

Modeling Behavior 

People don’t follow values — they follow behavior. How leaders handle pressure, mistakes, conflict, and success becomes the standard others mirror. Employees will follow the values if the leaders are role modeling and walking the talk. 

 

Setting Expectations 

What leaders measure, reward, fund, promote, and prioritize send powerful signals about what truly matters. 

 

Communicating Values 

Not just once, but consistently — and not just in words, but in actions and decisions. 

 

Hiring, Promoting, and Holding Accountable 

Every decision about who is brought in, elevated, or allowed to remain despite behavior concerns reinforces cultural norms. 

 

Creating Psychological Safety 

When leaders create environments where people can speak honestly, admit mistakes, and raise concerns without fear, trust grows — and trust is the foundation of every healthy culture. 

Leaders don’t create culture alone — but they absolutely play a powerful role in shaping its direction. 

 

Why Culture Matters 

Culture directly impacts: 

• Performance 

• Engagement 

• Retention 

• Risk and compliance 

• Health and well-being 

We often see organizations invest heavily in strategy, systems, and structures only to find those efforts undermined by cultural misalignment. 

People don’t leave organizations, they leave environments (and poor supervisors). And environments are shaped every day. 

Culture Is Built All Day, Every Day 

Culture isn’t something you roll out once a year. It’s built: 

• In meetings 

• In feedback conversations 

• In how conflict is addressed — or avoided 

• In what gets followed up on 

• In how leaders show up when it’s inconvenient 

This is the work we do with leaders: helping them recognize that culture lives in the everyday, ordinary moments. Not in grand gestures — but in daily decisions, everyday language, consistent follow-through, and intentional judgment calls. When people see alignment between words and actions, trust grows. When they don’t, culture quietly erodes. 

A Thought to Consider: Does your team live in an intentional culture — or an unintentional one? 

An intentional culture is shaped deliberately, reinforced consistently, and adjusted thoughtfully. An unintentional culture forms anyway — just without leadership direction. 

One drifts. The other leads. 

Our Request: Take five minutes and reflect:  

List three specific daily behaviors that currently define your workplace. 

Not what you aspire to.
Not what’s written on your website.
What actually happens. 

Then ask: Do these behaviors move us toward excellence — or away from it? 

Because culture is not what you say you value. It’s what you practice. And practice is always a choice. 

Authors Note: 

At HR Answers, this is incorporated in the work we do every day — partnering with leaders and organizations to build cultures that are intentional, aligned, compliant, and capable of supporting both people and performance.