From Words to Action: Building a Values & Purpose-Driven Culture

Picture this...

You’ve defined an epic purpose and values, but a few months later you wonder why no one is living them. They are on your website, your recruitment materials, on the intranet- but then you hear:

💬 “𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵.”

💬“𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴.”

💬“𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦.”

𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 😄

𝐖𝐡𝐲?

▶ 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬-𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.

𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭? 

➡ Action

➡ Tangibility

➡ Engagement

➡ Role-modelling

𝐒𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬-𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞? 

1️⃣ 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞: Seek to shift the perspective with the questions you ask. 

2️⃣ 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞: Work together & co-create with your employees to uncover and develop values. This builds ownership and authenticity. Be wary of completely outsourcing this externally, it can be helpful to have someone external facilitate the workshops/process/support with the copywriting- but I believe the team should always be providing input and at the core of the design process. 

3️⃣ 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥: Translate abstract values into concrete actions and behaviors. This helps everyone understand how to live these principles daily.

Aside from obvious communication points, shape your people experience around your values and purpose i.e. how do your values play out for example in recognition, recruitment etc. 

4️⃣ 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: Ensure leaders not only endorse but role model the company’s values. Help them create their own narratives around your purpose and values. Their behaviour sets a precedent for what is expected throughout the organisation.

What other tips have you seen that worked?