Your Company Values Are a Lie

Walk into most offices and you’ll find a values poster somewhere.

Words like:
Integrity. Teamwork. Excellence. Innovation. Respect.

They sound great.
But in too many companies, they’re nothing more than branding.

Because values aren’t what you write.
They’re what you reward.

Here’s how you know your values are real:

• You promote based on them

• You fire based on them

• You make hard decisions because of them

• You lose money to uphold them

• You live them
  

Anything less?
They’re just nice words on a wall.

When values don’t match behavior, employees notice:

• You say you value “transparency” but hide critical decisions
  

• You say you value “teamwork” but reward individual heroics
  

• You say you value “inclusion” but tolerate toxic leaders because they “get results”
  

• You say you value “growth” but haven’t invested in L&D in 3 years
  

That kind of inconsistency erodes trust faster than any policy ever could.

Because culture isn’t built in keynotes or retreats.
It’s built in the moments when your actions get tested.

So what can you do?

✅ Audit your values.
Compare what you say with what actually happens.

✅ Create accountability.
Make sure leaders model values daily—and call it out when they don’t.

✅ Link recognition to values.
Don’t just reward results—reward how those results are achieved.

✅ Use values to guide hard calls.
If they don’t help you make tough decisions, they’re not real values.

Values don’t need to be original.
They just need to be true.

Because when your culture reflects your words, people believe in the mission.
But when they don’t match?

No amount of perks or branding can fix the trust you’ve lost.

If your values don’t match your actions, your culture is broken.

Learn how to realign your business for authenticity and trust.

📞 Schedule a call to start fixing your culture.

📧 Contact us at [email protected]