A Practical Values-in-Practice Framework
In a time of transition—when long-standing systems are under strain and new ways of working are still taking shape—organizational values help leaders and teams navigate uncertainty with shared clarity.
But what happens when your values live only on paper and don’t show up in the daily decisions, behaviors, and trade-offs you make?
These resources offer a simple three-step approach to confirm your core values, identify gaps between intention and practice, and embed your values into everyday systems and ways of working.
Living Our Values Guide
A practical framework that helps organizations move from values statements to daily practice by clarifying how values translate into principles and behaviors.
In the Guide, you’ll find:
- A definition of values as living commitments and how they can show up through principles and behaviors.
- A simple model for moving from Values → Principles → Behaviors in daily work.
- A three-step approach to confirm values, identify gaps, and embed values into practice.
- Examples of where and how values can be integrated into organizational systems (hiring, performance, governance, wellbeing, culture).
Download the Guide Download in French Download in Spanish
Living Our Values Workbook
Designed to accompany the guide, this workbook is designed for you to work in. Either work from it digitally or print it out. It’s useful to facilitate a working session to refresh your values and map specific next steps for policies, processes, and team behaviors.
In the Workbook, you’ll get:
- Worksheets for each step of the framework
- Reflection prompts to surface alignment, misalignment, and “values under pressure” behaviors
- Planning templates to embed values into hiring, decision-making, performance, culture, and accountability
- A real-life case study of how values can be operationalized over time
Download the Workbook Download in French Download in Spanish
How you can use these resources
These tools are designed for leaders and teams navigating complexity and change—whether you’re refreshing culture, making high-stakes decisions, or trying to align “how we work” with what you stand for.
Here’s four ways you can start using the resources today:
- Start with leadership alignment: Read the Guide together and agree on what “living our values” should look like this year.
- Run a values refresh: Use the Workbook sequentially to audit values, define behaviors, and identify gaps.
- Use as a team practice: Pull one worksheet for a retreat, a monthly reflection, or a leadership meeting.
- Bring it into performance and decision-making: Use reflection prompts in 1:1s, reviews, or governance discussions.
Remember: there’s no single right pace. Some teams move through this in weeks; others return over months as part of ongoing culture-building.
Watch: Living Values During Crisis (Webinar Recording)
What does it actually look like to uphold your values when resources are tight, decisions are difficult, and trade-offs are unavoidable?
In this conversation, leaders share practical reflections on navigating pressure, making difficult trade-offs, and maintaining trust during times of crisis.
Watch the full recording here.
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