Welcome back to Cardcast! Today, we’re going to be talking about The Value of Values.
Do your company’s values live on the wall or in the day-to-day decisions of your people?
It’s a question I wish more leaders would ask themselves. Too often, “values” are little more than a list of nice-sounding words: integrity, honesty, teamwork, printed on posters that inspire more eye-rolls than action. When employees hear them and groan, that’s a clear sign that your culture has a branding problem. Values that aren’t lived don’t build trust; they break it.
The truth is, you don’t set values, you discover them. Every organization already has a set of guiding principles shaping behavior, whether or not anyone has named them. Your job as a leader is to bring those real values to the surface, test them, and make sure they align with the kind of organization you actually want to run.
The payoff is huge! When values are visible and consistent, people know what “right” looks like. They start self-selecting in or out. Performance rises, misalignments fall away, and clarity replaces confusion.
Jon Stewart once said, “If you don’t live your values when they’re being tested, they’re not values, they’re hobbies.” I’d take it even further: if your company’s values aren’t lived daily, they’re not hobbies, they’re lies.
Help your people find meaning by making your values real, visible, and actionable. Otherwise, they’re just words on a wall.
Key-Card points:
Most organizations misunderstand values
Values must be discovered, not set
Values shape behavior and decisions
Alignment creates clarity and freedom
Culture doesn’t change overnight; it evolves
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CardCast is produced by Lovemore Media.
