An executive team I collaborated with had a clear vision of their mission and culture, but it was mostly confined to the minds of the CEO, founder, and executives. This sporadic communication led to a lack of consistent reinforcement, causing the team to feel unclear and misaligned with the vision and culture.
To address this, we embarked on a journey to shape the desired organizational culture. Our first step was to establish a solid cultural foundation centered around the company’s purpose and mission. I facilitated workshops with the leadership team to refine their purpose and mission into a clear statement, which we then communicated to the entire organization through platforms like Notion and company meetings.
With this foundation in place, we moved on to crafting the company’s core values. These guiding principles were intended to direct daily actions, behaviors, and decisions. The exec team was initially hesitant to involve everyone in the process, fearing a loss of control and potential misalignment. Despite these concerns, I advocated for employee involvement, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity.
We conducted individual interviews with team members, gathering stories about cherished principles, desired changes, and future aspirations. From these conversations, we identified recurring themes and distilled them into six core values. After a thorough decision-making process, we narrowed these down to three core values, each with concrete behaviors and actions to guide daily interactions.
To embed these values into organizational practices, we developed a comprehensive strategy. This included integrating the values into hiring, performance evaluations, daily interactions, and recognition channels. By doing so, we ensured that the core values became a living, breathing part of their culture.
These core values now serve as a roadmap to success, providing clarity on expected behaviors and actions. They help attract and retain individuals who align with the company’s vision and mission, fostering a cohesive work environment and setting them up for long-term success.
Summary of Achievements:
- Designed and Communicated Core Values: Led workshops to define the company’s purpose and mission, resulting in a clear and concise statement shared with the entire organization.
- Inclusive Value Creation: Advocated for and involved employees at all levels in crafting core values, ensuring they resonated with diverse perspectives.
- Embedded Values in Daily Operations: Integrated core values into hiring, performance evaluations, and daily interactions, resulting in a culture of recognition and alignment.
- Improved Employee Engagement: Increased instances of employees praising each other for living the values, fostering a positive and cohesive work environment.
By building and embedding these core values, we clarified the behaviors expected and rewarded, creating a culture where employees actively recognize and uphold these values. This inclusive approach not only instilled a sense of ownership and alignment but also heightened the relevance and authenticity of the values.
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