Why core values must drive hiring, firing, and culture

Executive overview

Most companies claim core values but never do the work to uncover them. The result: vague permission-to-play words that nobody lives by, eroding trust and blocking growth.

Real core values come from identifying your superstars and naming the characteristics they share — not from a ChatGPT prompt or a marketing brief. Once surfaced, they must be owned by leadership and applied to every people decision.

Leaders who tolerate value mismatches signal to the whole team that the values are optional — and lose their trust in the process.

Uncovering your core values

• Identify three superstars from anywhere in the org, not just the leadership tier
• List the characteristics those people share — not by person, but as themes
• Word-smith the themes into three to seven values; fewer is easier to remember
• Values must feel authentic, not aspirational or client-facing
• A value that resonates internally is worth more than one that sounds impressive

Toxic top performers

• A high performer who can't match your values will damage morale, clients, and results
• Every leader who finally lets a toxic person go says the same thing: "Why did I wait so long?"
• The rest of the team is always watching — inaction signals that values don't matter
• When leadership doesn't act, trust erodes and underlying team tension compounds
• Performance matters, but values come first; you need both

Enforcing values as a leader

• Leaders own the core: values, focus, and direction flow from the top
• Avoiding a hard conversation is a leadership failure, not a kindness
• There is a direct correlation between honouring stated values and getting business results
• When leadership's actions don't match stated values, it causes the most damaging internal tension

Keeping values alive day-to-day

• Recognition tied to values often matters more to employees than compensation
• Peer-driven programmes (chips, awards, Slack channels) create organic reinforcement
• One client gives a five-buckle boot annually — each buckle represents a core value — to a field employee; the whole company rallies around it
• "Focus bucks" (wooden chips peers give each other) redeemable for prizes is a low-cost, high-engagement approach
• The format doesn't matter; what matters is consistency and genuine care for people