Trust. Integrity. Passion. Excellence - please stop.
Have you ever walked into an office and seen core values like Trust. Integrity. Passion. Excellence. listed on the wall?
I have. And every time, I inwardly sigh.
Not because those things are bad, but because they’re not unique.
Change the logo sitting above them and they could belong to almost any organisation.
And if your values sound like every other company’s values, they’re probably not really your true values at all.
And if they’re that generic, are they even memorable? Because if your team can’t remember them, they certainly won’t live them.
Real core values describe the DNA of your organisation. They are how people actually behave when they’re at their best. They capture how your business lives, breathes and operates every day.
Not a list of words someone thought sounded professional.
Core values are discovered, not invented
As Jim Collins famously said: “You don’t set core values. You discover them.”
The most powerful core values already exist within a business. They are visible in the behaviours of your best people – the ones others respect, trust and enjoy working with.
When leaders take the time to uncover these patterns, they begin to see the real cultural DNA of the organisation.
Not the wallpaper, generic business version.
The authentic one.
Values guide behaviour and decision-making
One of the most powerful roles core values play is guiding decision-making.
When values are clear, teams don’t need constant supervision. They can make decisions that align with the organisation without needing to check with the founder or CEO every five minutes.
Values provide the rules for behaviour: They clarify what is on-brand behaviour and what is off-brand behaviour inside your organisation, or as Brad Giles explains in Made to Thrive calls them ‘cool’, and ‘not-cool’ behaviour.
I can see this catching on in a workplace, “Jacqui, that’s not-cool mate!”
Clarity matters: When expectations are clear, people know what great looks like. When they aren’t, frustration creeps in and leaders end up constantly managing behaviour instead of focusing on growth.
Values shape culture by design
Once core values are discovered, the next step is translating them into behaviours.
What does each value actually look like in action?
One exercise I enjoy using with leadership teams is called Mission to Mars.
Imagine you’re sending a small group of your team to Mars to represent your company. With no shared language, the only way others will understand your culture is through how those people behave.
So who do you send?
The individuals who naturally represent your values through their actions.
When leaders start telling stories about those people – how they behave, how they solve problems, how they support others – the real meaning of each value begins to emerge.
That’s how culture moves from theory to reality.
Values also shape your brand
Core values don’t just influence internal culture. They shape how the outside world sees you too.
Your values influence:
how you communicate
how you market your business
how your team shows up with clients
what you stand for in your industry
They become part of your brand story.
Two companies might offer the same service. But their core purpose and values can make them feel completely different.
Values become a signal to the market.
Almost like speed dating.
Do we align?
Great – let’s work together.
If not, that’s okay too.
Strong values attract the right clients, partners and team members. Generic ones attract no one.
Embedding values into everyday business
Defining your values is only the beginning.
The real work comes from embedding them into the way your organisation operates.
That might include:
storytelling about team members who demonstrate the values
recruitment conversations that explore cultural alignment
onboarding that introduces new staff to the behaviours expected
performance reviews that assess values alongside results
internal communications that reinforce the culture
When values become part of daily conversations, they stop being words on a wall and start shaping the way the business operates.
The real test of core values
Your core values should be memorable. They should feel authentic. And they should describe behaviour your team already recognises.
If your values sound like they could belong to any company in your industry, they probably do.
But when they truly capture the DNA of your organisation, something different happens.
Your culture becomes clearer.
Your leadership becomes easier.
Your brand becomes stronger.
And the people who align with your values will recognise it almost immediately.
Jacqui Gage-Brown
📷 No filter. No pose. Just out there, being me. That's what real core values look like.
