Defining your company values

A comprehensive guide
 Defining your company values
A comprehensive guide

Contents
1. Wondering if you need to have company values?
What are values
Why are they so important?
FAQs
Where should you start
2. Preparing for the workshop - values definiton
3. The Workshop
Set the facilitation ground
Set the expectations
Start with the status quo

Set the benchmark

Pulse check
We are..., so we need to...
Balancing the values
The critical test
What would others say?
4. Behaviours Definition
 Wondering if you need to have
company values?
Let me start by saying that you already have company values, even if you didn’t
realize it. It depends on who established them for you before you considered
defining your company values.

Now comes one of the most complex, intimate, and challenging conversations
you’re going to have with yourself, your co-founders, and other relevant
stakeholders - the one about values. It's often postponed out of fear of not
knowing where to start, or due to concerns like "what if it's not relevant?" or "we
don’t need that now, as we have more pressing matters, like building the business
itself."

Sometimes, companies avoid this discussion because they see values as

buzzwords that they’ll take care of later when they're ready to invest in employer
branding.

Another popular, though unpopular for us, opinion is that values should be
defined later on, as it's too early in the organizational life to define them. The
concern is that defining them too early might not leave enough room for their
natural change and evolution as the business matures.

One thing we agree with is that there should be room for evolution, and values
should be reviewed periodically during different stages of business growth to
ensure they remain relevant or if they need refinement.

On the other hand, to demystify the stickiness and commitment that may be
intimidating, consider them as simple guidelines. Plant them as seeds and observe
how they grow. This way, you won’t risk putting lofty words on the wall without
knowing if they truly resonate with the company.

However, if you don’t establish values from the beginning, you won’t have the
foundation, tools, and mechanisms in place to guide their organic formation.
They're so sensitive that every new person who joins can have a strong impact on
the way you do things in your company. By the time you realize it, their influence
will have permeated even the tiniest, subtlest corners of your work processes.

Remember the phrase "this is how it has always been done"? If we were to survey
all the founders in the world, they would unanimously agree that it's the last
sentence they'd want to hear uttered by any member of their teams.

Take any random group of people, put them together to start working on
something, and they'll naturally form a culture. The adjustments they make, the
dynamics, the conflicts (avoided or manifested), the ways of working, pace,
mindset – they're all the result of adjustments made between their values.

In the most obvious way, some cherish quality, others speed; some prioritize
structure, while others emphasize creativity. Some will push for completion,
others for adding value beyond expectations. These dynamics will occur with or
without your control, so it's better to align sooner rather than later and establish
at least some guidelines if you're not ready for the complete picture.

You'll notice that the group will naturally exclude members who don't align with
the majority's views, and it becomes implicit. It doesn't even have to be
articulated; things just fall into place. There are many aspects to discuss here,
from the careful selection of the initial group to how you set it up for change and
evolution, and most importantly, ensuring that the person being excluded isn't the
one who should have stayed.

You're living according to values that you didn't explicitly define from day one,
and the way you set the tone, interact, establish the initial rules of engagement,
and define "how we do things around here" is a way to reinforce those implicit
values. This brings us to a crucial inflection point: if you didn't clearly and visibly
design them, you might find yourself lost in a multitude of behaviors you're trying
to promote, inspire, correct, or change.
They all make sense until you put them under review and realize that on one side,
you want punctuality and structure, while on the other, you have difficult
conversations or unshared expectations of autonomy, pushing the status quo, and
innovation.

These values are not mutually exclusive, but if you don’t balance them properly,
make them visible and predictable, and fail to communicate them effectively,
imagine not only you but also every member of the team getting lost in a
multitude of expected behaviors. With the interaction multiplier of even a small
team, the problem grows exponentially.

Considering Brooks’ law of team sizes, a small team of 7 people has 21

interactions. That's 21 opportunities for the essence to get lost in translation and
for adjustments to be needed to any given dynamic between two people. Surely,
you can't be present in all of them, and you need a transmission system that
effectively guides what you want to achieve.
It's not a matter of whether you possess values or not, as they inherently
exist within your organization and gradually develop into a core component
of its identity. The crucial question is when you're prepared to dedicate time
with your stakeholders to openly discuss and define these values, to
articulate them into words, and to establish a shared understanding. Doing
so early in the organizational journey is advisable, as these values become
integral from the very onset, influencing everything from initial interviews
to performance evaluations and feedback sessions.

Defining values also serves as a mechanism to shape and redirect behaviors

within the organization. By establishing metrics, you can assess the extent
to which people already embody these values and identify areas for
improvement in their interactions, expectations, and overall work output.

If you're still unsure about the necessity of values or if it's the right time to
address them, introspect during interviews and honestly answer these
questions: What message am I conveying to candidates about the company?
What image am I painting? Does this align with my desired image for the
company, or is there a disparity? What insights did I share with candidates
about our organizational practices? Are these practices already in place, or
are they merely expectations?

And perhaps the most crucial test: Do I worry on a new employee's first day
that they won’t find things as I described? If there's a gap, how significant is
it? Am I compelled to make considerable efforts to foster conversations and
encourage a welcoming atmosphere, especially on a new colleague's first
day?

It’s natural to answer "yes" to some of these questions, as consciously

fostering cultural growth with each new employee is essential. However, if
you find yourself putting on a facade during onboarding, it indicates that
the team hasn't fully embraced the desired culture, partly because you
haven't explicitly communicated where they should be.

So, should you establish values? You already have them; now it's about
articulating them and cultivating a culture that empowers everyone to steer
the organization in the right direction.
 What are values, as intangible as
they seem

Values encompass all the beliefs, principles, and behaviors that add value to
individuals and businesses. While many people may not consciously identify their
exact list of values, they naturally act and think in accordance with them.

Values are what set your business apart from others and play a crucial role in
achieving your mission. They unify your team and establish an immediate,
emotional, and enduring connection with your customers.

Although values may seem like abstract concepts, they are rooted in actions or
behaviors that can be quantified, measured, and felt. While values inherently
carry a positive connotation, they can easily lose their significance without
authenticity and meaningful implementation. Notice the word “implementation”?
No, you shouldn’t simply implement values; you should embody them.

The typical process of defining values involves discovering the most compelling
yet authentic words to describe them and then explicitly articulating how the
company translates those words into behaviors.

Think of these words as powerful anchors, representing the beliefs and behaviors
that make your team unique. We'll refer to these words expressing values as
"anchors" going forward, as they anchor the right set of tangible actions in
people's minds.

However, these words alone may not hold much meaning, as each individual may
interpret them subjectively. Therefore, the backbone of values lies in the
behaviors that must be clearly defined in sentences.

When executed correctly, values should:

Accurately depict your organization.
Highlight your unique selling points with a direct impact on business growth or,
at the very least, business improvement.
Build a team identity that unites people, attracts like-minded individuals, and
energizes your organizational spirit.
Bring clarity and objectivity to subjective matters, fostering a common
understanding through the consistent use of language.
 Why are values so important

Values serve as your authentic business card. They act as both a magnet and glue,
attracting and retaining employees and clients. However, it's crucial to note that
this holds true only if you genuinely believe in them and consistently act upon
them.

Your customers will choose you over others because you share the same
worldview and consistently demonstrate behaviors aligned with your values. This
is akin to how friendships are formed; people understand what you value, what
you stand for, and how you will behave. Your products and services then become
manifestations of the strong relationships built on common values.

When implemented effectively, values yield significant benefits and serve as

essential tools for constructing a sustainable organization:
Alignment, clarity, and coherence: They define who we are, how we operate,
and WHY.
Predictability: They establish expectations among team members, fostering
mutual accountability.
Purpose: They inspire and motivate your team, providing resilience in the face
of adversity.
Sustainability: They ensure leadership continuity, even amid changes in team
composition.
Decision-making: They offer guidance in navigating ambiguous situations.
Results: They succinctly describe how desired outcomes are achieved.
Brand and Cultural Identity: They contribute to forging a robust brand and
fostering resonance with both customers and employees.

Values wield the greatest influence in shaping a strong organizational culture and
establishing the groundwork for effective people management, ultimately
positioning you for success.
Attracting talent

Showcase your unique culture and draw people alike;

Recruitment process alignment and efficiency: look at the people through the
same lens regarding culture;
You have a benchmark that you can use to understand how the candidate will
grow and push your culture forward;
Hiring decisions get easier: compromise on technical skills, never on values
Better hiring decisions: always get consensus on values
Candidate engagement: a good culture is noisy and draws people - you can
engage candidates more, make it predictable for them on how it is to be part of
your team;
Smooth onboarding: since you opened the door to your organisation in so
much detail the onboarding process starts basically during the recruitment
process; it also brings continuity, as the candidate slips for real into the
company’s reality and it’s not much different from what they imagined based
on your interactions with them during the interviews.
Talent Management

People Moves: Plan your organizational capabilities more effectively and make
decisions regarding promotions, demotions, and investments based on a
predictable and transparent system.
Simplify and enhance transparency in people decisions such as promotions,
lateral moves, project allocations, and learning investments.
Design salary increases and bonuses decisions with alignment to your values.
Enhance team performance: Values are the key driver in improving team
performance.
Go beyond efficiency: Values offer an additional perspective on performance,
as they have an exponential impact on achieving results.
Foster engagement, synergy, and inspiration among team members.
Establish predictability, comfort, and safety: Cultivate a culture of safety
where individuals know what to expect from their peers.
Engagement and Retention: Initiatives grounded in values create a more
lasting and intimate impact on engagement. Increase the sense of identity and
belonging to a cohesive group or team.
Increase the sense of identity, belonging to the group/team;
Recognition and Rewards: Implement mechanisms to recognize and reward
people consistently, using values as the primary currency for evaluation.
 When is it the best time to do it?

Define your values as soon as possible. Don’t perceive them as static entities;
once set, they're not set in stone forever. That's the beauty of it: having values
provides a guiding framework, allowing you to gauge your current position,
measure progress towards your aspirations, and identify necessary actions to
bridge the gap.

You'll never achieve a flawless system or assemble a perfect team to embody your
values entirely. However, the process you initiate to uphold them yields value
beyond mere adherence, as it lays the foundation for a dynamic and sustainable
organization.

Keep your values flexible, recognizing that periodic reassessment ensures their
ongoing relevance and effectiveness. You may find that as your team grows or
your vision expands, adjustments to your values become necessary. External
factors, such as market shifts, may also prompt recalibration.

It's never too early to establish values. The sooner you do so, the more seamlessly
you can integrate them into every facet of your operations, from recruitment
practices to team dynamics and beyond.
 Is it ever too late to define the values?

It’s never too late to start defining your values, but it becomes significantly
challenging to integrate them into your organization if there's a substantial gap
between the current situation and your desired outcome.
This transition shifts from a values definition process to a values change process.
And like any change process, it requires more than simply defining the values,
communicating them, and expecting instant transformation.
The longer you delay this process, the more you'll find yourself grappling with a
change management process that demands greater time and effort from both you
and your team. Additionally, you'll inevitably disrupt the established norms within
your organization along the way.

How many values do you need?

For simplicity and to ensure proper balance, we recommend starting with 4-5
values initially, with the option to expand to 6 at a later stage. If you're just
beginning, it's best to stick with 4-5 values to grasp the process effectively and
allow room for growth. As your organization progresses, particularly during
significant shifts in vision, goals, such as pivoting, internationalization, or
introducing new products/services, you may find it necessary to add another
value. This ensures that your values remain aligned with your evolving objectives
and necessitate adjustments, adaptations, and change as needed.
 Who should do it?

It should definitely start from the founder(s). If you have a management team
already, take into consideration that it’s within your responsibility to make sure
you’re driving them to the right path. Don’t leave them to be set by the level of the
team you have at a certain point. Or do it if you feel that is the ultimate team you’ll
work alongside for many years moving forward and they’ll stay with you every
step of the way. What is also crucial here is how prepared are they to understand
this need and what are their capabilities in this kind of project.

Can you change values once you’ve set

them?
Like any other initiative that involves change, it needs a special focus, a certain
set of actions and usually a prolonged timeline, but it can definitely be done.
Organisations that grew fast in a short time or grew steadily in a long period of
time usually need to do some adjustments. If you look at it from a change
management perspective, and act according to it, you can change values.
 Where should you start?

There’s no better place to start than with a person, and the best person to initiate
this process is the founder(s). If you have co-founders or even a small team in
place, you already have some stakeholders to engage in this important
conversation about values.

We strongly recommend that as a founder, you begin this conversation

independently first. This allows you to establish a tone and determine the
direction you want the discussion to take.

It's crucial to move the conversation beyond your own thoughts to gain insights
into the current status quo. You'll be surprised by the perspectives others bring,
shedding light on aspects that may have been overlooked.

Use this opportunity to involve and engage the people who will help shape and
live out these values. By making them part of the process, they'll feel invested in
its success.

For example, in a project with a software company, one of their products gained
significant market share due to their commitment to exceptional customer
service. Despite occasional technical shortcomings, clients appreciated having
reliable support available.

During the process of defining company values, the founder suggested that the
management team analyze and negotiate a list of values to select the final five to
represent the company. We organized a focused session with all managers to
emphasize the importance of selecting values that are meaningful and not just
buzzwords.

Making a sum or average of everybody’s values is a slippery slope as you may not
be sure at that moment if the people you have in the room represent the
organisation at its best or if they’re going to do it as expected in the long term.
Your values might be skewed by the composition of your group and not in the way
you expected.
 Before igniting the conversation
with your team - your personal list
Check the “Reflection - Conversation Structure” annex

Returning to the first person we should start with — the founder — set aside some
time away from the office environment and prepare for a reflective conversation
with yourself. While it may sound abstract, we assure you it's anything but that.
Refer to the conversation structure provided in the resources.

Begin by contemplating why you embarked on this journey and what sets you
apart as the driving force behind this business. Consider what makes you unique
and start jotting down words that capture the essence of your entrepreneurial
spirit.

Next, reflect on your strengths that propelled you forward, and then turn your
attention to a valuable source of insight for identifying your values: your
limitations. Identify areas where you may need assistance, where your skills fall
Whyshort,
are and
values
what so important
support you require from your team to compensate for these
limitations.

You might be naturally inclined towards organization and perfectionism, but

recognize that, at this stage of your business, it's more critical to iterate, test, and
gather feedback rapidly. Acknowledge the need for individuals who can challenge
this mindset and push for quick validation in the market.

Consider your blind spots and envision the qualities and skills you'd like to see in
others who can complement your strengths. Define how you expect them to
operate and contribute to the team's success.
 Finally, define your two core beliefs or values (for balancing reasons, to be
discussed later) that represent who you are and how you do things the most. For
instance, your commitment to the world could be that rather than deceiving
customers into buying, you would prefer to close down the business. Your aim is
to provide value, and the price you ask for is not based on gimmicks or pricing
strategies. Your relationship with customers is built on delivering value rather
than transactional exchanges.

Alternatively, you may realize that integrity is non-negotiable for you. You expect
this not only from yourself but from the entire ecosystem you're building around
you, including employees, customers, providers, and competitors. You're willing
to let go of customers who do not align with this core value.

At the end of this exercise, you should be able to articulate and distinguish who
you are based on these two core beliefs, regardless of how many businesses you
may build.

Write them down, keep them close, and always keep them in mind. Now, you're
ready for the workshop.

Why are values so important

 Preparing for the workshop - values
definition

Why are values so important

 Preparing for the workshop - values
definition
Resources:

“Reflection - Conversation Structure” document

- complete the form and have it prepared for the workshop

Values definition - workshop presentation:

- complete the slides with the instructions marked in red;
- slides 10-12 - to be completed during the workshop with
Why are values so important
the team;
- change the proposed values from slides 16-19 if you feel
like you want to work with other values that represent you
better;

Print
Pulse check - print out the exercise and have it ready for the
moment it appears on the slide on the presentation;
Slides 16-20 - make sure to delete the instructions on slide
20;
Preparing for the workshop

What to expect from the workshop, whether you’re a founder or a facilitator:

From the outset, understand that not everyone shares your goals or perceives the
need for this discussion. The topic of values tends to elicit polarized opinions,
often leaning towards the negative.

Some participants may struggle to grasp the significance of this conversation or

its potential impact on their work or the business. They may prefer to focus on
tangible tasks that yield quick results, and that's understandable. However, it's
important to acknowledge this energy, as you'll also encounter individuals who
may not actively engage due to their inability to contribute at this level.

Recognize that everyone comes to the discussion with different experiences,

learnings, and levels of investment.

Certain individuals may resist the discussion, dismissing it as trivial or superficial.

They may perceive it as merely putting words on a wall, unaware that this process
is intended to be different from past experiences.

Approach the meeting with awareness, empathy, and patience, knowing that not
everyone will readily embrace the discussion. Setting realistic expectations
beforehand can prevent frustration and help you stay focused on your mission.

If you’re a facilitator, collaborate closely with the founder, as they are your
primary ally in this endeavor.

When preparing for the workshop, anticipate potential dynamics and biases that
may arise during the discussion. If you skipped the previous section, get back to it.
It tells you a lot about how the dynamic of the discussion may unfold and prepare
yourself with small tweaks and tools to overcome these issues.
What to expect from the people in
the room
Here’s a list with what the people in the room might do:

1. They might try to keep the status quo:

Some of them will always refer to the situation at hand and the limitations that the
organization has at that time and adding anything on top might seem too much.
That’s good, you’re not changing or reinventing the organization there, but you
start from where you are and build on that.

2. Some might have a low bar:

Maybe some of your leaders are first-time managers and they expect out of
people as good as they get and nothing more. Might slip into agreeability and
consensus and asking more of people or whatever you’re proposing, they’ll filter it
through their belief that people should be kept happy at any cost as that brings
performance. Let the conversation flow, don’t reject it and point it into the
direction you need - this is a means to make people genuinely happy, not just on
the surface with conditioned initiatives.

3. They might not be accustomed to have these kind of conversations:

Some of them have a mathematical structure and they look at things from a
transactional way and having an “abstract” conversation is not their piece of pie.
Or they are not so prone to making themselves seen as your group already has a
dynamic of “talkers” and “listeners”.
Acknowledge the unconventional nature of the conversation while encouraging
everyone to contribute.

4. They’ll resonate better with what it’s familiar to them and reject what is
attacking indirectly their weaknesses:
They might be supportive of the things they know are easy for them to do as they
identify with them and might reject the ones they know they still have to work on.
So make sure to push during the meeting towards things that are important but
not comfortable for us. Be mindful not to attack people or state that you need this
X thing because you don’t see it manifesting in the team. State clearly that we’re
here to build something and that we have a whole journey ahead where all of you
will be together in adapting to it.
5. Some will come already biassed from previous experiences when they did this
and proved to be a corporate bulls**t:
Maybe it was just a meeting to be checked off a list and their misconceptions are
based on their previous experience, this is why it’s on you to reset the
expectations at the beginning, highlighting as many times as you can that what
happens beyond the meeting is actually giving live to these words and that needs
a lot of work. What didn’t work before was just that, that it wasn’t done with the
right goal in mind, other than putting some values on a wall.
 The workshop

Check the “Values definition - workshop” presentation

Why are values so important

 Set the facilitation ground

We recommend the following steps to maximize the effectiveness of this meeting.

But before delving into the steps and tools, let’s establish the right foundation.

Set the facilitation ground

Make sure to include everyone in the conversation during certain moments,
regardless of their reasons not to speak up or getting involved, they need to
be included.
Pay attention to silent listeners or introverts, as they may offer valuable
perspectives if encouraged appropriately.
Manage individuals who dominate the conversation by maintaining focus on
the agenda and topic relevance.
Identify potential detractors in advance and observe their dynamics closely.
Engage them as allies on points where agreement is likely.
Foster an environment where dissenting opinions are encouraged. Agreement
from everyone may signify a lack of engagement. If necessary, emphasize the
importance of the discussion and the need for active participation.
Establish ground rules for the workshop regarding duration, objectives, breaks,
and phone usage. Communicate these rules beforehand and reiterate them at
the start of the meeting.
 Set the expectations

We recommend the following steps to make the most out of this meeting and
before getting to the steps and tools, let’s start by setting the right ground.

We cannot overstate the importance of setting clear expectations for the meeting
and articulating the desired outcomes. This will guide the discussion, and
revisiting the agenda throughout the meeting will ensure that we stay on track and
address relevant topics.

Provide an introduction to the subject, explaining why the meeting is being held
and detailing the journey that led to this point. Share any pertinent details that
underscore the importance of the meeting. Then, outline the expected outcome:
defining the values and the process for achieving this goal.

As you have prepared, you may anticipate objections and address them
preemptively. Acknowledge any past experiences with similar workshops and
highlight the distinctions of this one. Stress the need for focused attention for a
few hours during the meeting, emphasizing its value and significance that made
you get them out the business as usual where they are much needed.

Seize this opportunity to underscore that building organizational culture and

values is an ongoing endeavor. While this meeting marks a significant step, it is just
the beginning. Continuous reinforcement and dissemination of these values
throughout the organization are essential. Once established, the system will
become self-sustaining, yielding long-term benefits. Conversely, delaying this
process will only increase the effort required to implement and adapt it later on.
 Start with the status quo

1. Make an intro to the subject

Make sure to have some pre-work done to help them get familiar with the definition
of values, their impact, showcase examples in the industry or of organisations that
managed to build successfully their cultures around values.

More importantly, state clearly what impact they’ll have in your organisation - for
example you’re going to assess candidates and your employees on them.

Then show them what their role will be beyond their definition, on how you expect
them to act, make decisions, based on them and how they are the main agents of
change and the biggest promoters of them.
Maybe you want to put all this info in some prep email you send when you want to
express your intention to do this project or in the calendar invite.

2. Start with the status quo

If you didn’t do a culture check with the whole team ahead of this meeting, then
you really need to give the room some accommodation space, some time to reflect
on where you are.

We strongly recommend doing interviews with the rest of the team to understand
how the culture that is being lived at the moment is and to get a hang on the reality
beyond what your management team thinks it happens in their team’s minds.
Moreover if you didn’t have your values defined and made visible, you’re going to
spot all sorts of behaviours or beliefs that you didn’t know were a thing in your
team.
Imagine that your organization has different layers, and up until a certain point,
they are not transparent or widely communicated with one another.
Consequently, pertinent information may never reach you unless specifically
requested. Moreover, discussing values, behaviors, and beliefs is not something
that naturally arises in people’s minds. It must be prompted, explored, and
challenged.
You'll encounter various challenges with different people across your experience,
and if you don't delve deeper into their origins, you'll find yourself aware of a
problem without being able to pinpoint its cause. In the majority of cases, these
issues will revolve around values or culture.

Now that you’re working on their definition, you’ll have a map and know where to
dig deeper and with which tools. That’s how much this exercise is going to help
you.
Check the status quo exercise you’ll do live in the room. - slides 10 to 12 from the
Values definition workshop.

Going back to the room, if you haven’t conducted a cultural check and lack a
neutral person outside of your teams (assuming you don’t have a dedicated
human resources/people person), you'll need to establish the groundwork for your
management team to reflect on the current situation. This involves examining
various aspects and accurately describing the identified situations by putting
words to them.

Their challenges with people:

Make a conscious effort to delve deeper into any challenges they may face and try
to understand the problem and its root cause. Determine if it's an organizational
design issue or isolated cases. Identify as many challenges as possible and focus
on gathering those that are common to many people managers. Document the
findings and group similar ones under different challenges. Name each challenge
based on your current understanding.

Repetitive behaviours that are not desirable and are shown by a good number of
people:
Focus on the frequency of these undesirable behaviors and filter out any cases
that do not contribute to the pattern. Document the list by identifying how many
individuals are experiencing the same issue.
Outliers, extreme behaviours either on a positive or negative valence:
These should be easy to spot, and your task here is to ensure that you understand
if those situations have been addressed. Challenge your leaders to think about
how the organization allowed such behaviors to manifest. What aspects were left
undefined, when do these behaviors occur, do they represent isolated incidents
or a pervasive pattern?

On a positive note, ask yourselves what factors contributed to positive behavior

outliers. What unique treatment do these positive outliers receive to foster such
behavior? How can you extend this approach to the rest of the team?

Their expectations about people that are not met:

Your leaders should have at any time an answer to what expectations they have
on their people. They work continuously to set them, communicate, nurture,
monitor them.

You’ve heard once in your life a manager saying “I don’t know what to do anymore,
for my people to be more responsible” or “I want my people to be more
independent”. These are exactly the right kind of answers you should get out of
the room in this step.

What is working well and should keep happening:

Here, the critical thing is to focus not only on identifying the things that are
working well but to try to reverse engineer the process and see how you designed,
without knowing your organization, to bring these aspects out in the team. How
did you manage to set the groundwork for those positive aspects? Is it luck,
something intentional you did, or is it isolated because you have some exceptional
individuals who compensate for the rest of the team?

After this stage, you should have a short list of problems, solutions, and words to
describe the current situation.
 Set the benchmark

One of the most important things you have to make sure doesn’t happen is: to set
your direction or how far you want to get with your organisation based on how
your current team or situation looks like.

Pay close attention to the benchmark, you don’t want to dream too low because
your current team is so far away from what you wished it was. Set the expectation
beyond the status quo.

To ensure your team adopts the right mindset, explain that examining the status
quo helps measure the gap between your current state and your desired
destination. This assessment clarifies the magnitude and importance of the
changes required, essentially determining the degree of adjustment needed.

Reverse engineer your vision

It’s not as complicated as it seems; you do it every time you plan your business or
set objectives.
Revisit your vision with the team and raise a simple question:

How should we be as a team to be able to achieve this vision? What kind of team
should be able to deliver this 3-5-7-10 year plan? How should they work, act,
react, live the organisational life to help them succeed?

You won’t be able to build it overnight and this process of defining and building
the best team to help you achieve that vision is a continuous one, without an end
date. But the process in itself will make all the difference in how you bring your
teams on the same boat, seeing their contribution and impact on achieving it and
how you keep those motivation engines rolling.
 Pulse check
Check the Pulse Check annex

Now that you looked at the present and reflected together on the past, before
going into the next exercises that focuses on the future, conduct a pulse check
with the team.

These are dichotomic words meant to force them to look at things from extreme
perspectives. This usually gives you clarity and direction, when you look at things
through their extremes. If at the beginning you don’t know where to start, if I give
you two opposite options, “you’d rather this than that” pretty quickly.

You can use the pulse check exercise (in the resource library) for this. Make sure
to make it your own and add or replace any dichotomic pair with the ones that
suit you the best.

Compare the exercises and discuss the differences. Point out some things you
really want to keep, like you’d rather want to be a sports team than a family and so
on.

This exercise, as simple as it is, gives you clarity by looking at the situation through
its extremes. If you’re undecided, it helps you look at the opposite options
because then for sure you’ll express your tendency or willingness to go towards
one or the other. Maybe not fully, but “towards” gives you an answer.

You can revisit this exercise later on when balancing the values, to understand
what’s the direction you all have in common regarding that. It’s also important to
spot things that are different among the answers of the team members to
understand where they come from and make sure you’re talking about the same
thing.
 We are... so we need to...

Resource: slides 16-21 in the workshop annex

Your business is unique at any given time, regardless of how many competitors
you have. You differ in approach, challenges, resources, and value proposition.
You’re at different stages, different market share, you have different talent pools
and capabilities.

Prepare before the meeting those critical sentences that describe your business
long term, filtering out any challenges you might face that are isolated or
describing only a determined moment in your business life.

Try to select what best describes your business as wide as possible in 5

statements starting with the 5 criteria below (you may add others or replace some
with criteria that showcases the best your business uniqueness). Some examples
below:

Innovation
We’re pioneers, so we need to…
or the opposite
We are in a highly competitive market, so we need to…

Stage
We are still small, so we need to…
or
We are not so small anymore, so we need to…

Choose between innovation and stage, depending on what you need to highlight
or focus on the most. If you're not in a highly innovative business or pioneering
something, it's best to go with the stage as a criterion. Being in a highly
competitive market and considering ways to overcome it is also important, but
you may address that through the Value Proposition criterion.
Vision
We have a big vision to work on, so we need to…

Stakeholders
We have a lot of stakeholders, so we need to…

Or
We have these clients/customers, so we need to…

Industry
We work in this industry, so we need to…

Value proposition/uniqueness
We are different, so we need to…

Now that you’ve selected and made them yours (they can stay as they are if you
don’t have any special criteria outside of the proposed ones), put each of them on
a slide as a title and start adding words on the slide that describe the values you
think should help you succeed in each of the statements.

For example: if you selected “We are still small, so we need to…”, the words you
might put on that slide could be: resourceful, lean, ambitious, grit, creative,
ownership.

Check other proposals on the resources - slides 16-21 from the Values definition
annex
Now, present each slide to the team and have them printed and given to each
participant. They should select, each of them, 2 words that they think best
represent what your values should be according to each statement. They should
circle the words without sharing with the team. They can also add some other
values they consider fitting better and are not on the slide.

Have them add their own values that they didn’t find in any of the slides and can’t
be attached to any of the statements on the last page, which is left empty for
them to complete their own personal values as leaders in this organization.

Then bring all the people into the main conversation. Read one by one the
statements and then start with each word and count the selection frequency. At
the end, you should have a few words that have been selected the most times.
Take a moment to reflect on the ones that weren’t selected. Now that you have
some preferred ones, how similar are they and did you miss out on some that
maybe you feel you need?

Then do this with the rest of the statements and on the summary page input all
the words from each page that have been selected with the highest frequency.
Order them based on frequency.

Congratulations, you’ve found your anchor words.

 Balancing and Naming the values

You’ll find that during the exercises, you'll focus a lot on the wording. This is an
amazing progress; it's important to choose unique wording for your values to
express the best message you want to send to the world.

You can be as creative as possible and even use verbs or short sentences as your
values. For example, "Ambition" can become "Push the status quo," and
"Ownership" can be "Make it happen." Try to break free from the constraints of
picking only a single word to express it; your goal is to ensure instant
understanding - if someone from outside were to enter the room and read them
for the first time, they should understand them. If that means using a couple of
words, then go that route.

Your goal through this exercise is to make sure you apply a wide look to the
picture to make sure you didn’t select only values that are somewhat similar,
comfortable. Values also need to have balance.

People tend to be subjective and will react strongly to something familiar and
easy to grasp. They will also stay consistent with their first choice, so if they
initially choose two values that align with a certain theme, they may continue to
select similar ones that reinforce that theme even if the statement is different.

For example, if they resonated first with boldness, ambition, grit, they’ll look for
similar ones that push through the future and express that attitude during the
next statements.

Then, you have to make sure you don’t set your values to the extremes and that
you balance them out to build a healthy and sustainable organisation.
Any value, if taken to the extreme, becomes negative. We’ll discuss more about
this when building the behaviours. Any value that doesn’t have a
counterbalancing one has a huge potential to go rogue.
Imagine if all of the values you have so far are going towards ambition, grit,
passion, courage, daring, boldness. How do you make sure you’re not encouraging
your people to become a soulless selfish army? How will you send them the
message that after ambition it all comes down to ownership? That we’re bold but
considerate of our team? That we dare but we also care?

Take them one by one and use the dynamic of the Pulse Check-in exercise.

Think of them in terms of their opposites first. Use the examples below as a good
starting point.

Ambition as opposed to…

Depending on how you complete the sentence, and it’s hugely important to be
yours, it will speak to you on how you can define the behaviors of that value to
make sure you’re describing perfectly what you expect of people outside of the
word anchor that you have found.

If ambition is opposed to humbleness (let’s say you selected this one), you might
find out that humbleness is, in fact, something you want to define you as a team,
that you never cease to work hard, to learn, to improve and that you are not self-
sufficient. Humbleness expresses the right mindset to acquire what you need so
you move forward with ambition. Ambition by itself, not backed by skills,
continuous growth, and improvement, might be just an attitude.

Do this with all the words you have so far and it might give you a lot of insights
into what you might have been missing all along without knowing. Or it might help
you set in stone some of them.

This exercise will also give you a hint on how to start building the behaviors that
describe the values, so you might want to take notes for later on.
 The critical test

It is really hard to think about values without a reference system. Everything

sounds really nice in theory, that you will find some values you appreciate and you
and your team will live and manage your business by them.

But the most important thing is what happens when values are challenged.

The most helpful question that arises is: how will we react in our relationship with
customers, partners, employees, and the community during critical moments?
From this point, everything becomes easier because you can exaggerate
hypothetical critical situations to find out what you really value by how you will
choose to react. You know how you can truly know a friend when you need him?

That’s why when you imagine facing adversities, your values become clearer. It
helps you decide, for example, that when your business goes south, you will
continue to serve your clients with the same stewardship and commitment.

When you have to choose between your procedures and the immediate needs of
the clients, what do you think you should choose? All this in a critical moment, of
course, you shouldn’t stop yourself from building a healthy organization because
you’re always reacting to the customers' needs without a structure. This is not
sustainable.

You’ll also have clarity in decisions like firing a client, and all the decisions
regarding people are to be made from this point according to your values.

Try to challenge every value by thinking of a critical moment and how you’ll act,
react according to that value.
 What would others say?

By now, you’ve spent some time on them, so you've become attached to the
values you’ve selected so far. They mean more to you than they did before, and
you feel the progress of the exercise. You may even want to wrap them up in a
beautiful product already.

Before finishing the session, try to take one more look at them through the eyes of
other stakeholders, from the outside world.

What would your customer say? What would the investors say? How would the
candidates loot at your company?

What do you want to express the most? Is it the process to get somewhere, like
humbleness, or the end goal of it, like ambition? Will ambition gain trust in the
minds of your customers? Do they need that, or do you need that for the team?
Can ambition be something more than an attitude and be translated into "push
the status quo" or "go the extra mile" - both already instilling trust through visible
actions as results of ambition.

Do the same for all of them and try to be honest and ready to give up values that
you hold dear, especially if their resonance is high, they sound good, and might
create an elevated sentiment around them.
 Wrap up the workshop
Check the Values Naming annex

Summarize the findings together with the team and express gratitude for their
valuable contributions to this important exercise.

Create a one-pager to summarize the sessions and send them all the materials,
presentations, and session products. Encourage them to review the materials in a
few days, allowing the information to sink in and to approach it with a fresh
perspective.

In the meantime, engage with stakeholders such as close customers, investors,

advisers, or individuals familiar with your business. Extend the discussion to
family and friends as well. Seek their perspectives on your business, how they
would describe it, and then share the outcomes of the workshop with them.
Understand how accurately the workshop outcomes reflect your business, team,
and company through their eyes. Identify any additional perspectives or nuances
they may offer.

Complete the values naming annex with the chosen values, even if there are
multiple options for one value. You are only beginning to consider final names at
this point.

Send the sheet to the team after the meeting and allow them to independently
vote on their preferred options. Compile the results into a single document. See
where the votes go and you’ll have the 5-6 values you were looking for.

Following this, you can begin constructing the behavior library based on the most
frequently chosen values.
 Behaviours Definition

Check the Values and Behaviours annex

Why are values so important

 Behaviours definition
Resource: Values and Behaviours annex

Now that you have your values chosen, it’s time to give them the description they
need so that everyone understands them the same way.

The behaviours are a set of actions and reactions that we use to describe how we
expect people to behave in line with the values. It makes it visible, easy to see,
assess, give feedback on and realign people with the values.

Use the examples on the Behaviours definition workbook to help you select and
define the behaviours you use to describe your values.

Have in mind behavioural balancing - using the same method as you did when you
defined the values.
Use simple sentences, get rid of subjective and hard to understand adjectives and
make them your own. They don’t have to sound fancy, you just have to make sure
they are easy to understand and to follow and there is not much room for
interpretation left.
You can use balancing behaviours to describe the same value.

One easy trick to understand where you should start (besides the behaviours
library we built for you to start somewhere), is to think about the behaviours using
the same dichotomic approach as you did on the Pulse check exercise.

What’s even more powerful is to think of them this way: any behaviour, if
expressed too much, becomes negative.
Too much “rolling up your sleeves” needs to be balanced in some way so people
don’t jump into action, mindless, right away, without looking further than the
current situation.
Too much “good vibes” and there is no constructive feedback or teamwork. You
may even slip into politics.
Try to find the other behaviour to balance any behaviour you might think is
powerful and you want it with urgency in your team.

Send your team the Behaviours definition workbook and let them work on it at
their own pace. They should select max 5 behaviours per value.

Then gather all the results, compile them and meet with them to discuss the final
selection of your values and behaviours. And start discussing how you’re going to
propagate them to the whole team. That is a whole new project, but the first big
step has been done.
 Behaviours definition
Resource: Values and Behaviours annex
Now that you have your values chosen, it’s time to give them the description they
need so that everyone understands them the same way.

The behaviours are a set of actions and reactions that we use to describe how we
expect people to behave in line with the values. It makes it visible, easy to see,
assess, give feedback on and realign people with the values.

Use the examples on the Behaviours definition anne to help you select and define
the behaviours you use to describe your values.

Have in mind behavioural balancing - using the same method as you did when you
defined the values.
Use simple sentences, get rid of subjective and hard to understand adjectives and
make them your own. They don’t have to sound fancy, you just have to make sure
they are easy to understand and to follow and there is not much room for
interpretation left.
You can use balancing behaviours to describe the same value.

One easy trick to understand where you should start (besides the behaviours
library we built for you to start somewhere), is to think about the behaviours using
the same dichotomic approach as you did on the Pulse check exercise.

What’s even more powerful is to think of them this way: any behaviour, if
expressed too much, becomes negative.
Too much “rolling up your sleeves” needs to be balanced in some way so people
don’t jump into action, mindless, right away, without looking further than the
current situation.
Too much “good vibes” and there is no constructive feedback or teamwork. You
may even slip into politics.
 Pulse check
Print this sheets selection on a portrait A4 paper.
Ask the participants to colour each of the bars below indicating the word they lean
towards the most.
Considering that the middle cell is zero, the participant should colour as much as
she/he feels towards the word that they chose.
For simplicity, think of them as statements as "I'd rather this than that."
 0

Cold Friendly

Sports
Family
team

Fast Stable

Doers Consultants

Ambitious Pragmatic

Grounded Courageous
 0

Consolidate Scale-up

Relationship Results

Discipline Spontaneity

Plan Experiment

Approachab
Professional
le

Strong Vulnerable
Reflection - Conversation structure

Why did I start? What helped me build this kind of business?

Why and how am I different?

What are my strengths?

What are my limitations? Where do I need help?

What do I need from my team to compensate for this?

What are my blind spots? What kind of people can cover them?
How should they be and do things?

My 2 core values
 Values and behaviours library
Here you have a proposed library of values, but feel free to
add, change, edit, drop any of them.
They will give you a starting point

Value Behaviour

Actively seek out opportunities to take on challenges and we

make bold decisions when needed
Bold We fearlessly express and champion unconventional ideas
We demonstrate a can-do attitude, tackling projects with
confidence and determination

We set ambitious goals that push beyond the status quo,

inspiring everyone to tap potential in everything we do
We proactively seek opportunities for growth and
Ambitious
performance
We approach our mission with a relentless commitment to
achieving high standards and exceptional results

We face challenges with resilience and bravery, addressing

difficult situations head-on
We stand up for principles and values, even when faced with
Courage
opposition
We take bold actions in the presence of fear or uncertainty,
leading by example

We actively seek and embrace opportunities for innovation

and experimentation
Dare We take calculated risks and learn from failures
We step outside comfort zones regularly, inspiring others to
embrace new and unfamiliar experiences

We ask questions and seek to understand the "why" behind

the status quo and decisions.
We actively explore new ideas and perspectives, fostering a
Curiousity/smart culture of curiosity
We engage in learning opportunities beyond our current goals
We actively seek new ways of dointg things
We challenge the status quo
 Value Behaviour

We go beyond what is expected

We find ways to deliver results no matter the circumstances
We embrace a mindset that views challenges as opportunities
Innovation for growth
We are open to new ways of doing things when facing
challenges
We seek new ways of doing things to deliver the best results

We adapt to changes with a positive and flexible attitude / We

embrace change
Flexible We are open different perspectives and approaches.
We pivot and adjust strategies quickly in response to evolving
circumstances

We embrace change as a natural part of who we are

We are ready to quickly adjust to new circumstances and find
effective solutions
Adaptable We continuously learn and evolve in response to changing
conditions
We understand we need to adapt when creating something
new

We foster open communication, encouraging everyone to

share ideas and feedback
We actively listen to diverse perspectives, valuing inclusivity
Open
and collaboration.
We are receptive to change and new approaches, maintaining
an open-minded attitude

We seek ways to get the best with what we have

Resourceful We use resources as if they are our own
We find creative solutions to problems with limited resources

We seek great impact and we learn continuously to be able to

deliver it
We make mistakes, ask for feedback and seek help from
Proud but Humble
others
We celebrate success while recognizing the contributions of
others

We go the extra mile to bring impact

We actively seek to contribute beyond the expected
Go Beyond
We look beyond the current fabrics and generalise solutions
We consider the impact beyond the current situation
 Value Behaviour

We roll up our sleeves and do what's necessary to face

challenges
Roll Up Our Sleeves We embrace challenges and act beyond what's expected
We take on opportunities to learn and to be exposed to
newness

We act like owners in everything we do

We are reliable and we go beyond to deliver our results
Ownership/ We act with pride and commitment in delivering high-quality
Responsibility results
Act as a steward of the team's success, owning both
successes and failures.

We seek continuously fresh ideas, perspectives and needs to

help us succeed
We actively seek opportunities to improve ourselves and our
services to drive higher quality and value
We are flexible and we thrive in changing and evolving
Growth mindset
contexts
We embrace challenges as learning opportunities to foster
continuous improvement.
We actively embrace feedback and opportunities to grow
We are committed to deliver value beyond what is expected

We approach challenges with a positive and solution-

oriented mindset
Encourage a culture that sees challenges as opportunities for
Challenge growth.
Proactively seek out and tackle challenges to push
boundaries
We embrace challenge as a driver to bring value

We persevere in the face of setbacks and challenges

We learn from failures and use them as opportunities for
growth
Resilience We maintain a positive and resilient attitude during difficult
times
We bounce back from adversity and find ways to use it in our
favor

We adapt quickly to changing circumstances and make them

work for us
We are open and flexible to adapt to changes
We seek new ways of doing things to perform in changing
Agile
situation
We are open to listen and try new approaches to deliver the
best value
We keep an open mindset to find the best way to deliver
 Value Behaviour

We go after our goals the best way, not the hardest way
We have a minimum affort for maximum impact mindset
Measure and communicate the impact of individual and team
efforts.
Impact
We feel responsible and care about the impact we're having
We focus on delivering value beyond expectations in
everything we do
We act with responsibility to drive impact

We consistently meet commitments and deliver on promises

Deliver Our Promise We build trust in all interactions
We are reliable and we own our commitments

Actively seek out new opportunities to learn and become

better
We focus on continuous learning to become the best
Learn/ We support our team and encourage learning together
Improve continuously/ We seek ways to learn, improve, perform and grow
Perform/ We continuously ask for and deliver feedback to grow
Smart We find solutions for improvement beyond a singular context
We seek alternate perspectives to improve our ideas
We learn eagerly, quickly and he support others to do the
same

Foster positive and friendly interactions with team members

and colleagues.
Friendly Actively engage in team-building activities to strengthen
interpersonal relationships.
Create a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone.

We show good vibes and a positive attitude even in

challenging situations
We support each other unconditionally to reach our common
goal
We contribute to create a positive and fun work environment
Good Vibes
We assume and deliver the best for each other
We create a welcoming and inclusive envirnoment for
everyone
We are excited and proud about our work and we understand
out impact and contribution

We drive impact through passion

We are passionate about our work and we act with energy and
Passion focus
We drive ourselves by our passion to deliver the best results
We act with pride in our work
 Value Behaviour

We genuinely care about the impact we're bringing

We give and receive feedback and help each other improve
Care
because we care
We make choices that are mindful to the impact we're driving

We build trust by consistently delivering on commitments

and promises
We communicate openly and transparently to perform to the
best of our potential
Trust/ We are reliable and approachable
Reliable We consistently honour our commitments
We do our best to deliver even when we face adversity,
change and challenges
We builld trust by being reliable and ambitious
We can always count on each other to do our best

We make decisions with the impact in mind

Fair We seek ways to understand all the perspectives and impact
in making decisions

We strive for excellence, quality and bringing value in

everything
Perform We set high standards for ourselves and we hold each other
accountable for them
We are driven and focus on delivering performance

We communicate openly about decisions and challenges

We seek to build trust in every interaction
Transparent
We are an active part in focusing on the best solution instead
of short term interests

We are comfortable to show up as we are and we create the

same context for others
We feel empowered to express ourselves as we are
Authentic We accept other's opinions and we foster a feeling of
belonging for evrybody
We are open to share ideas, knowledge and to help each
other succeed

We partner with everyone to find the best approach in our

shared goal
We encourage open communication and address concerns
Transparency
transparently
We foster a transparent culture where information flows
freely across the team.
 Value Behaviour

We do the right thing even when no one is watching

When in doubt, we always choose the fair way
We act consistently with values, even when facing difficult
Integrity
choices
Demonstrate honesty, reliability and fairness in interactions
with others

We are approachable, creating environments where everyone

feels valued.
We stay humble and down-to-earth, regardless of
Grounded achievements.
We are self aware and willing to learn continuously
We are open to feedback and continous learning
We support and value each other beyond position