The Importance of Turning Core Values into Guiding Principles

The Importance of Turning Core Values into Guiding Principles

Successful companies are clear about their values. They know what they stand for.  Even more importantly, they’ve learned to turn those values into non-negotiable guiding principles that help them hire the right people, navigate sticky situations, and intentionally shape their organizational culture.

Start With Your Core Values (but remember: Less is More!)

It may be tempting to create a long list of values that your organization believes are important. Values are good after all, aren’t they? Sure they are, but the longer your list, the harder it is to not only remember them, but to adhere to them. 

When you’ve really honed in on your core values, you’ll have a much easier time making sure that everything in your business is aligned with those values. Your core values are the set of foundational beliefs that help guide every decision within your company. They become like your Drishti—your focused gaze that keeps your decisions in balance. When you’re not sure how to move forward on something, lock your gaze on your core values, and watch how easy it is to determine the right course of action.

A good rule of thumb is to limit your list to somewhere between three and seven values. These core values define your culture and who you truly are as an organization. 
It’s important to note that core values aren’t meant to be aspirational. You’re not making a list of things you wish you valued. Or things you’ve seen elsewhere that ‘sound good.’ You’re making a list of the things you- and those you work with- sincerely and authentically do value and are willing to make non-negotiable in your organization.

Turning Your Core Values into Non-negotiables

Once you’re clear on your core values, you can turn those into your guiding principles—your organization’s non-negotiables. 

A guiding principle is an action-oriented expression of a core value. While a value is a fundamental belief or trait of your organization, a guiding principle is a standard for behavior and mindset in the workplace. It’s a lens through which you and your team make decisions and intentionally build your organizational culture. 

For example, if your organization values fun, your guiding principle might be “work hard, play hard.” This now guides all decisions within the company (hiring, processes, policies, etc.), gives team members a clear picture of how to behave, and allows everyone to be on the same page. If you find that productivity or team morale is low, look to your guiding principles to assess what ails you. Perhaps you’ve been erring on the side of “work hard” and forgetting the “play hard” part. Since “work hard, play hard” is a non-negotiable for you, it’s time to make some changes and get things back in balance with your core values.

Another scenario: Your organization may have “responsibility” as a core value. To make sure everyone is on the same page about what that means and what it looks like in practice, you’ve turned that into this guiding principle: “We never pass the blame. We take responsibility for the impact of our actions.” Making this guiding principle non-negotiable might mean that you have to terminate a manager or employee who is constantly blaming others for their mistakes. It might mean that you create specific communication protocols for employees to follow when communicating the impact of someone’s actions and how that person should respond. It might mean breaking up with clients who don’t share this value with you. It might mean creating marketing messages that highlight your commitment to responsibility so that you attract new clients who are aligned with your core values.

Whatever your values, you can turn them into non-negotiable guiding principles that drive every decision you and your team make. The result will be a fully-aligned business that knows—and truly demonstrates—what it stands for.

Need some more examples? Here are a few more core values turned into guiding principles.

Guiding Principles Shape Company Culture

Establishing guiding principles will allow you to shape the culture of your work environment and ensure that your employees understand what behaviors you expect. Once your non-negotiables are defined, you must hire, fire, review, reward, and recognize people based on these core values. This is how you build a thriving organization around them.

When your guiding principles are clear, you’ll find:

• Your organization attracts more like-minded people

• Your hiring process weeds out applicants and clients who don’t fit your values

• Employees and contracted workers adhere to the moral behavior you expect

When non-negotiable guiding principles stem directly from the values that are most important to you and your company, you set yourself up for success. They can also help promote productivity, increase job satisfaction, and foster professional success. Guiding principles help leaders and their teams create, develop, and maintain company cultures that help the business grow and thrive. 

Unsure of how to determine your core values or how to turn them actionable, non-negotiable guiding principles within your organization? I’d love to help you get started. Let’s connect.