Core Values Aren't Posters

I was employed with a business not too long ago that appeared to take a lot of pride in their Core Values. I saw them in many places. Handbook, documents, newsletters, website.

They were there. They even sounded good. But they were never talked about. Never "socialized." We didn't hire based on them, nor did we fire based on them. They were just words, nothing more.

The Gap Between Stated and Real

Every company has values. Very few actually live them.

Stated values are aspirational. They sound good. They attract the right candidates. They look nice on the wall. They make you feel like a real business. Mission statement, check. Core Values, check.

However, real values are what you do when the situation is hard. When someone's been there 10 years and makes a mistake — do you coach or cut? When it costs you money to do the right thing by a customer — do you do it? When a leader breaks the rule — does the same standard apply to them as to everyone else?

This week I had the pleasure of listening to the VP of Operations for the Union Square Hospitality Group speak at a conference. She mentioned how their organization moved away from using core values and into written behaviors! I see it the same way, because real values describe the behaviors you want to see in your business rather than just the aspirational intentions.

Here's the test: if your company had a week where every decision was made based on your stated values, and another week where every decision was made based on what you actually do — how different would those two weeks look? If the answer is "very," your values are posters, not behaviors.

Values Are a Decision-Making Framework

The companies that actually build culture around values use them differently. They treat values not as statements of aspiration but as guides for making the right decisions. For example...

Not: "We value respect." But: "When the choice is made on a heavily debated decision, the people on the other side of the debate respect the decision as unified front and move forward together, as a team."

Not: "We value integrity." But: "When a great and skilled team member gives their word on delivery timelines, yet continually falls short, you sit them down and coach them on what integrity means in your business. And if they are not coachable, you remove them from the team."

Not: "We value people first." But: "Before any reorganization, we exhaust every option for the people involved — not because it's mandated but because it's who we are."

When values are guidelines, they actually show up in behavior. When they're decorations, they don't.

Where the Gap Kills You

The real cost of values-as-posters isn't the hypocrisy. It's what it does to trust.

Employees watch. They know the difference between what's on the wall and what actually runs the place. So do customers. And when they feel the gap — consistently — they stop trusting the leadership.

For example, if you say you value transparency, but decisions are made in private or just pushed live without discourse, you shouldn't be surprised when your culture takes a hit.

Another example is in recruitment. Great candidates will likely ask great questions. And they may also speak to current employees. If they don't see the actions match the values, they will go somewhere else. Conversely, if you hire someone that doesn't share your values, you might be in for a ride!

And a third example is retention. People who believe in what they're building stay. People who watch values get violated quietly leave. The people who stay are often the ones who learned to play by the real rules. The rules you actually employ - but that's not the culture you want.

What Values Actually Look Like in Practice

I've worked with companies that actually build values into how they run. With intention.

A client in the media space has "Never Settle" as a stated core value. What made it real: every team member is challenged when producing content to objectively review it. To collaborate and seek feedback so they can produce the best content they can for their clients. Good enough is not good enough for them. And a process for that is built into their reviews prior to delivery.

Another company had "honesty" as a stated value. This was embodied in the culture. Leadership had agreed that if someone brought bad news to them, the first response was "thank you." Not panic, not blame, not "fix it before anyone finds out," but simply, "thank you." Because bad news early is worth more than bad news late.

These aren't just soft practices either. They are the foundation of your business. The stronger the foundation the stronger and more guided the growth. The strength of your values will show up in the numbers. Companies with genuinely values-driven cultures have lower turnover, higher employee engagement scores, and faster decision-making, and better customer relations — because people know what the standard is and trust that it applies to everyone.

Socializing Your Values

If your stated values and your actual values don't match, you're not going to fix it with better designed posters. Here's what actually works:

Define what each value looks like in practice. Not "integrity" — but "we acknowledge to clients when we can't match our word, and we do it well before they ask." Not "teamwork" — but rather "we step in and help our colleagues if they are struggling." Specific behaviors, not abstract words.

Use values as guardrails, not afterthoughts. When two candidates are equal in skills and experience, let values be the deciding factor. When two business decisions are equal in outcome, let values determine the choice.

Hold leadership to the same standard. Values that only apply to junior employees aren't values — they're rules for people with less power. The moment a senior leader breaks a value with no consequence, the whole system loses credibility.

Build a values review into your rhythm. A weekly Scoreboard tracks performance — a quarterly values review tracks behavior. Are the decisions being made consistent with what you say you believe?

The Question to Sit With

If someone asked your team to describe what your company actually values — not what it says it values — what would they say?

That's what matters. And it's the work that separates companies where values are something you have from companies where values are something you are.

Right people right seats starts with knowing what you actually believe. So does building an accountability structure that reflects your real priorities — not the ones on the wall.