Impact of Values Alignment on Trust and Collaboration

Only 23% of U.S. employees believe they can apply their organization's values to their work. Even worse? Only 15% believe their leaders uphold company values. Here's what their leaders are missing (and how to fix it): The problem isn't the values themselves. It's the dangerous misalignment between: • What leaders say • What leaders do • What gets rewarded • What happens day-to-day This creates what I call a "culture crisis" - where your words and actions tell two different stories. Trust goes out the window. Engagement plummets. Innovation dies. Results suffer. And the data proves it: • Companies with strong cultures see 4x higher revenue growth over 10 years • They achieve 3.8x higher employee engagement • They're 1.5x more likely to retain top talent But here's what most leaders miss: You can't just send a mass email or put posters up announcing your company values... You must shape it with thousands of tiny decisions made every single day. I see it all too often: • You tell your team that "innovation" is a value - but punish failure • You preach "collaboration" but your processes force competition Your employees WILL pick up on these inconsistencies and it will push them towards greener pastures. Here's what actually works: 1. Systems Alignment (Create Clarity) Your processes must reflect your values. Create clear decision-making frameworks that empower teams to act on values daily. 2. Walk the Talk (Build Alignment) When faced with tough decisions, openly explain how your values guided your choice. 3. Psychological Safety (Generate Movement) Build trust by celebrating when people speak up, admitting your own mistakes, and showing vulnerability first. 4. Consistent Action (Sustain Results) Make values part of your daily conversations. Recognize and reward behaviors that exemplify your values - not just results. The leaders who keep their values alive and well all share one thing: They understand that culture isn't what you say - it's what you consistently DO when no one's watching. And this isn't just theory... These are the exact principles I've used to help transform cultures at some of the world's largest companies. Not sure where to start? Save the infographic below to identify the top 5 culture killers and how to fix them. Want more on becoming the leader everyone wants to work for? Join the 12,500+ leaders who get our weekly email newsletter: https://lnkd.in/en9vxeNk

I've seen it happen many times. A thriving organization with engaged teams, clear values, and momentum suddenly transforms into a revolving door of resignations and declining performance. Often, it's a single misaligned executive hire. When I joined my previous company, I inherited a leadership team with one recent addition who seemed impressive on paper. Great credentials, compelling interview presence, and technical expertise. What wasn't assessed? How they'd operate within our carefully built culture. Within months, the changes were palpable. Collaboration gave way to siloed decision-making. Transparent communication transformed into information hoarding. The psychological safety that had encouraged innovation dissolved as teams became hesitant to share ideas. The financial impact was undeniable - increased turnover, decreased productivity, and erosion of the customer experience. But the deeper cost was watching ten years of intentional culture-building unravel in less than two quarters. The painful truth: culture isn't just built from the bottom up - it's protected (or destroyed) from the top down. What I've learned through this experience: Cultural alignment must carry equal weight to technical capabilities in executive hiring Leadership team chemistry requires intentional assessment Values alignment isn't a "nice-to-have" - it's foundational The true cost of a wrong executive hire extends far beyond compensation This doesn't mean hiring only agreeable personalities. Healthy tension and diverse perspectives are vital. But core values alignment is non-negotiable. The most effective organizations I've worked with build cultural assessment directly into their executive hiring process - using structured approaches to evaluate not just what a leader can do, but how they'll do it. Has your organization experienced culture shifts after leadership changes? What safeguards have you found effective in your executive hiring process?

Here's what I've learned from 19 years of hiring: If values aren’t part of the hiring process, they won’t shape the culture that follows. At Harvest Group, we’ve built our foundation on five values: Integrity. Relationship. Service. Excellence. Journey. We’ve taken the time to define them clearly and document the stories behind them. Not as words on a wall, but as lived examples. Every time we hire someone new or explore a new partnership, we start with our values. We ask: Do they share our values? Do they have examples where they have lived them out? We also pay close attention to their questions. The kinds of things they ask tell us what they prioritize. That matters. We’ve learned this approach creates alignment. That alignment fuels trust. And trust builds the kind of culture that lasts. We don’t believe culture just happens. It’s built through who you hire and what you hold to.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 - 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀. I once worked with a company that had an impressive mission statement and a sleek values page on their website. But when it came to customer experience, those values disappeared in practice. After digging into the disconnect, we found: → Customers felt unheard. → Frontline teams lacked decision-making power. → Leadership focused on transactions, not relationships. We were operating with intentions, not execution - and that’s where most companies fall short. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻: Why do so many businesses struggle to align core values with customer success? → Employees don’t see the connection between values and their daily work. → Leadership preaches values but doesn’t reinforce them in decision-making. → Success metrics prioritize revenue over impact, trust, and accountability. When this happens, customers experience inconsistency, and trust erodes. 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲: Misalignment happens because: → Values aren’t operationalized. Teams need clear guidelines to apply them in real-world scenarios. → Accountability is missing. If leaders don’t uphold values, neither will employees. → Customer feedback is ignored. If clients feel like just another number, they’ll go elsewhere. 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲: How do you integrate values into every customer interaction? → Empower employees to make decisions aligned with company values. → Tie success metrics to customer experience, not just revenue. → Reinforce values daily - not just in onboarding but in real-time decisions. → Listen to customers and adjust processes to meet their evolving needs. 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀: When you truly align values with customer success, you create: ✅ Increased trust - customers stay loyal when they feel valued. ✅ Higher engagement - employees take ownership when values have real meaning. ✅ Stronger reputation - your company stands out for delivering what it promises. ✅ Long-term growth - business thrives when customer success is intentional, not accidental. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗻 - 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲. → How does your company reinforce core values in customer interactions? → What’s one example where values made or broke a client relationship? 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 - 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁? - Chris Clevenger #Leadership #CustomerSuccess #Integrity #Accountability #BusinessGrowth

Strategy Execution and workplace culture are interconnected disciplines that play vital roles in every organization's success. It’s simply a matter of whether or not we recognize it. When aligned effectively, these two elements create greater collaboration and drive performance of our teams, leading to impactful results. Both are steeped in teamwork and teamwork thrives on collaboration—where collective skills and perspectives unite toward a common purpose. This creates the kind of bond where team members support and become accountable to each other. It becomes unbreakable. However strong the bond of our people, effective teamwork still hinges on having a positive workplace culture. Trust, respect, open communication, and psychological safety are essential for teamwork to thrive and our strategy to succeed. Workplace culture is a strategy execution accelerator, it can be defined by as the shared values and beliefs that guide our thinking and behaviors. Without the right behaviors we can't operate effectively as a team. When strategy execution and workplace culture align, they create a cycle of positive operational success that includes: Enhanced Collaboration: Silos are broken down and new relationships built empowering cross-functional activities. Increased Innovation: A supportive culture encourages creativity, risk-taking, and ongoing experimentation. Improved Engagement and Retention: A positive culture with clear expectations creates accountability, which helps us to belong, reducing turnover. Enhanced Adaptability: Supportive teams navigate challenges together, they adapt more quickly, and emerge stronger from setbacks. These elements are just a few of the advantages for every organization in addition to helping the individuals on your team develop confidence, and grow personally. Positive workplace cultures are built on trust and it's trust that enables us to align our efforts with organizational objectives, in this environment strategy execution becomes a shared responsibility and leads to sustained success. And who doesn't want sustained success? How many of these attributes are common in your organization? #leadership #workplaceculture #strategyexecution