Vague Values Sabotage Vision
An organization is often compared to a journey. It's cliche cuz it works. Three components of that journey are categorically un-cliche. The why is the starting point.
Core Values
An organization is often compared to a journey. It's cliche cuz it works.
Three components of that journey are categorically un-cliche.
The why is the starting point. That catalytic moment when a group decides it’s more exciting, more compelling—or more necessary—to go there than to stay here. It’s the spark that swells the heart with courage and hope while initiating the mind with curiosity and focus.
Then, there takes over; the vision. Where are we going? To disrupt the human comfort zone, a vision must be vivid and idealistic. It presents an opportunity that the heart and mind can’t ignore. But there’s a hitch: a powerful vision is both inspiring and unattainable. That tension is the engine of innovation. It keeps ambition awake, fuelling creativity, persistence, and progress.
And then, we have values. The most influential of the three once the journey begins. Values are how you move. Not the route. Not the transportation. But the compass that keeps you on course. When a team lives its values, energy stays high, trust compounds, and people grow. Because the right values don’t just guide behaviour—they demand evolution.
Too often, I see values like “integrity,” “collaboration,” and “commitment” (Yawn). Ear candy. Table stakes. They sound nice, but they’re vague and puddle-deep. One person’s integrity is another’s convenient justification. (I find integrity, as a stated value, has little integrity.)
The values that matter—the ones that actually shape culture—are singular, evocative, and nearly proprietary. They don’t just say who you are. They demonstrate it. Ideas like “Consistently stepping up to the plate,” “Imagine in bold ways,” or “See the story for what it is” aren’t just phrases. They’re operational truths. Values like these jump off the wall and into the bloodstream.
Values don't result from a brainstorm. Their essence must be crafted and refined over time into something that feels like organizational DNA.
Because that’s what they are.
Your why sets the intention. Vision, the direction.
But your values?
They determine who you become along the way.
And in leadership—and in life—that is the only legacy that ever really lasts.
TAGS: #Core Values, #Vision, #Adaptive Leadership, #Purpose, #Wisdom In Leadership, #Wisdom At Work, #Adaptation As Innovation
Les Mottosky
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