Originally published on Substack
For the first five years, our organization operated without written values.
At first, it didn’t seem to matter. We were small, close-knit, and aligned by instinct. But as we grew, the cracks began to show. Departments started working in silos, communication broke down, turnover climbed, and morale slipped.
Our culture wasn’t toxic; it was just undefined. In many ways, it was an accidental culture instead of an intentional team culture.
That tension finally pushed us to sit down as a team and define who we wanted to be, and how we wanted to work together.
The Team Retreat
In January 2022, during a team retreat, we discussed the patterns we were observing and realized we needed clear guidelines for how we worked together.
The conversation was open and honest, sometimes uncomfortably so. Some people spoke often while others stayed quiet. At times, it felt like an airing of grievances.
But in the end, we had something tangible that we called “operating values.” Together, we landed on four core values, each with three supporting ideas. They weren’t perfect – some were even a little pointed – but they reflected who we were and who we wanted to become.
Making Them Real
Once our values were set, the question was what to do with them. It took some time to figure out where to plug them in, but we eventually integrated them into every corner of the organization.
We used them in performance reviews, giving feedback on which values people embodied and which needed attention. We gave shoutouts tied to them. We told potential new hires about our values to ensure they were aligned.
We finally had a shared language for what ‘good’ looked like. For the first time, our culture had structure.
Values Evolve
Three years later, we realized they needed a refresh.
As I mentioned, they were created during a time of internal tension, so they ended up a bit pointed and specific to those issues. There were simply too many – sixteen total statements – making them hard to remember and uphold.
We cut them from 16 to just 6, consolidating them into something easier to remember. From there, we previewed them for our team (most of whom weren’t around when the original values were created), and solicited feedback before finalizing them.
Operational values should evolve as your organization matures.
Every Organization Needs Intentional Culture
Every organization already has a culture. The only question is whether it’s happening by accident or by design. Operational values make culture intentional.
Writing them down didn’t solve everything, but it gave us language, boundaries, and direction.
That’s the real purpose of operating values – not to make people behave, but to help them belong to something clear, consistent, and worth building together.
Lessons Learned
Every team needs operating values. Without them, people fill in the gaps with their own interpretations. If you’re thinking about creating operational values for your own team, here’s what I’d tell you.
Create buy-in. Leaders get the honor of defining culture. But when you’re developing operational values within an existing team, make room for input to build buy-in. Discuss them together and shape them as a team.
Keep them simple and memorable. If they’re too wordy or there are too many of them, they won’t stick. At a previous organization, our principal value was, “Get Shit Done.” Everyone knew what it meant, and it guided real behavior.
Make them visible and lived. Your values should echo across every corner of the organization – not just be plastered on a wall. Bake them into hiring, reviews, operations, and recognition.
Values are aspirational. Once you set them, people will be watching to see if they’re real. Everyone should remember, though (and leaders should repeat this point): Operational values remind us who we want to be. Acknowledge human nature, and practice grace.
Uphold them consistently. The fastest way to erode trust is to make exceptions – or avoid tough conversations – when someone doesn’t live up to the values. Others will notice.
