Our core values are printed on posters in our office, but my leadership team members rarely use them to make decisions or address behavior issues within their own departments. How do we get our leadership team to actively operationalize these values?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Core values are useless if they are just words on a wall. Your leadership team sets the tone for the entire organization, and if they do not actively live and enforce your values, your culture will degrade. To operationalize your core values, your leadership team must lead by example. Start by integrating the People Analyzer into your quarterly review process. This tool allows you to objectively evaluate whether every team member is a true culture fit. Use it during your leadership team meetings to address behavioral issues directly. If a department head is consistently hitting their numbers but violating a core value, the leadership team must address it through the IDS® process. Leaving a toxic high performer in place shows the rest of the company that your values are negotiable. Additionally, incorporate your core values into your hiring, onboarding, and recognition programs. Start your weekly Level 10 Meeting™ by sharing human interest headlines where team members lived out the core values. When making difficult strategic decisions, explicitly ask which option best aligns with your core values. By constantly referencing them in daily conversations, your leadership team turns abstract concepts into concrete operational guardrails. This alignment builds a cohesive, high-performing culture that is attractive to prospective buyers and critical for a clean exit.