By Cori Maedel

Most senior leaders prefer employees who understand what their company is about, who align with their values and integrated company culture in all they do, according to a 2008 survey¹. However, one-fifth of these leaders do not consider mission and values when scaling back the workforce. So when times get tough and purse strings start to strain, the focus of a CEO can understandably drift to other ideals — those more tangible that aligning action with values.

HR professionals are in the unique position of putting in place systems and practices that integrate values and culture throughout an organization, and to truly have an impact on business success. But how can they keep CEOs and senior leaders on track to ensure values remain top of mind at all times and in all actions?

Values live at the heart of an organization — they give it purpose and are the bearing points upon which you can always rely. Core values answer the question, “How do we act — what are the norms of behaviour that define our culture?” according to the 2003 article “Organizational Values and Leadership” in The Public Manager.

Values possess the following characteristics:

• They ultimately define every individual’s membership in an organization
• They establish “where we want to be” or the desired goal of an organization
• They fulfil the need for people to belong to something of which they can be proud
• They create a committed workforce
• They are a genuine extension of a CEO’s or senior leaders’ personal values
• They are instilled not by what is said but by what is done

If these are not yet defined, there’s no need to panic — they already exist but might not be written down. The best place to start is with the CEO because, more often than not, values are conceived by the company’s creator.

Start by asking the following the questions:

• Who are we?
• What do we believe in?
• What inspires us?
• Where are we going?
• What will it look like when we get there?

Try to summarize these into statements that get down to the company’s core and reflect deeply held, non-negotiable principles. It’s also a good idea to stress the dangers of not living up to these values, which include mistrust, cynicism, dishonesty, a demotivated workforce and low staff retention.

Having achieved clarity around company values, it’s time to translate these into action. A majority (85 per cent) of 365 companies surveyed in 30 countries in 2004² said their companies rely on explicit CEO support in reinforcing a company’s ability to act on its values. Of this percentage, 77 per cent said CEO support was one of the most effective practices for reinforcing a company’s ability to act on its values, according to Deriving Value from Corporate Values by the Aspen Institute and Booz Allen Hamilton.

It’s not enough for CEOs and leaders to only show the vision or talk to it — they must walk their talk, demonstrate that all business actions and behaviour explicitly support and reinforce company values and culture. They must also help create clarity around these values for their teams and translate this clarity into action by encouraging employees to adopt these principles.

Effective communication is about dialogue. Invest the time to keep employees well-informed about how the company is doing in reaching its goals and of any business developments. If nothing else, start with regular team meetings and one-on-one progress reviews. It’s about being sincere and actively listening. Offer encouragement, guidance and support, and provide regular, constructive feedback. Promote teamwork and relationship-building, and reward and recognize good performance.

Many companies are unable to connect values with the bottom line. Instead, they operate on instinct, knowing somehow they are making a difference. But regular, effective communication and values-based action start at the top and cascade down. Combine this with integrated values and you have a company that is actively driven towards its goals and a workforce that is well-informed, motivated and productive.

Cori Maedel is CEO of The Jouta Performance Group in Vancouver. For more information, call (604) 488-8885 or visit www.jouta.com.

¹Value of Corporate Values by LRN, October 2008

²Deriving Value from Corporate Values, 2004, by the Aspen Institute and Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. http://www.boozallen.com/media/file/145534.pdf