Building Trust Through Shared Company Values

Stop treating your Employee Value Prop like a tagline. Start using it to galvanize your entire workforce. Most companies say they have an EVP. Few know what to do with it. It’s not about career site copy or rebranded onboarding kits. A real Employee Value Proposition unlocks momentum, the kind that aligns 5,000 (or 80,000+) people around a shared purpose. I learned this firsthand leading culture transformation at one of the largest healthcare employers in the U.S. Here’s the truth: If your EVP lives in HR, you’ve already lost. It’s not a talent tool. It’s a business accelerator. The organization had scaled through acquisition. That meant fragmented cultures, legacy systems, and a “one company” message that didn’t match reality. Corporate strategy called for innovation and next-level care. But the culture wasn’t built for it - yet. So we started with the people. Thousands of conversations, not just surveys. We asked: What connects you to your work? What keeps you proud? We found a unifying force: the collective drive to deliver incredible care. That became our EVP. But the transformation came when we operationalized it. We built outcome-based pillars, not just values, but decision lenses. Not words on posters. Tools for action. They became: Hiring guides (we trained recruiters to assess for alignment, not just skills) Onboarding narratives Manager scorecards Performance criteria Bonus frameworks (yes, compensation tied to culture outcomes) Every function, not just HR used the EVP to guide decisions. It became the organization’s GPS. And we didn’t do it alone. We partnered with outsiders - not consultants, but provocateurs. People who pushed us beyond industry norms. Who asked the uncomfortable questions. Who helped us stop designing for now and start designing for what’s next. One of those partners now runs a venture called Fauna, a testament to what bold collaboration can spark. Here’s what I’ve learned: If your EVP isn’t designed to: 🔹 Align culture and strategy 🔹 Focus every team around shared outcomes 🔹 Make performance part of your values …then you’re missing the point. This isn’t about launching an internal brand. It’s about building a culture system that accelerates your business and turns people into believers. So ask yourself: → Does your EVP live in a slide deck… or in daily decisions? → Are your values just wall art… or linked to pay and performance? → Did HR build your EVP… or did the whole business? An EVP buried in HR is a missed opportunity. An EVP wired into your operating model? That’s how real transformation sticks.

I recently asked a leadership team to define the word trust. Not surprisingly, each member of the team had a different definition. While many were close in their definitions, there was enough variability that it was possible for two people to have a conversation about trust and have two separate conversations. Successful teams depend on trust, but people commonly misunderstand its nature. We tend to focus on whether someone is trustworthy, overlooking a more profound truth: TRUST BEGINS WITH THE PERSON CHOOSING TO TRUST, not just the one earning it. The analysis of 2,000 data points shows that trust develops through three essential elements: the TRUSTOR (the one giving it) and the TRUSTEE (the one receiving it), along with their COMMON ENVIRONMENTAL factors. Research shows that leadership models that focus on team member traits fail to recognize how mindset and environmental factors (culture) influence team dynamics equally. My new book, BEYOND THE LEADER, positions trust as a core element within the SAFETY DISCIPLINE, which reframes how we understand trust. Trust doesn’t stand alone—it’s an outcome. People develop trust when they experience emotional and psychological safety, believe their voices count, and when smart failure leads to learning experiences instead of punishment. Trust needs safety to develop into an established foundation. Four essential behaviors serve as the foundation for developing and sustaining trust in an organization: COMPETENCE – demonstrating the skills and reliability to deliver. CHARACTER – aligning actions with values and integrity. CONSISTENCY – being reliable in behavior, especially under pressure. COMPASSION – showing care and empathy for others as people, not just roles. Organizations develop their strongest trust when members feel protected to express themselves and engage in the messy middle where interpersonal risk-taking happens. Safety is a fundamental aspect that leaders must actively model for team members. Trust responsibility extends beyond the leader's role to every team member. Team members at all levels contribute to trust development through how they Show Up, Speak Up, and Sync Up. The development of trust demands safety alongside belief and requires constant intentional action from everyone involved. #trust #leadership #followership The Encompass Group E3 Leadership Academy #BeyondTheLeader #newbook #author

When I started LMB Group years ago, I quickly realized that while having a great service was essential, our commitment to our core values truly set us apart. Integrity, sustainability, and community weren't just buzzwords; they were the foundation of everything we did and still do. This just reminds me of an impactful experience during the early days of LMB Group. We had a choice to take on a lucrative project that didn't align with our values or stick to our principles and risk significant financial gains. We chose the latter, and it was a defining moment. It reinforced the importance of staying true to our values, no matter the cost. There's an art and science to developing products, services, and a business. But what if you applied that same art and science to working in alignment with your values? Hear me out, this will get clearer. In business, the art lies in crafting unique ideas, designing appealing products, and telling compelling stories that connect with our audience. The science involves leveraging data, optimizing processes, and continuous improvement through research and development. Right? Right. Why am I giving you this backstory? Marrying the art and science of business development with our core values helps us create a cohesive and authentic approach that builds trust and loyalty among our stakeholders. For 14-plus years, we have waxed stronger because our business practices are not only effective but also meaningful and sustainable in the long term. Here's what you can take away from this for your brand or business: Applying the art and science of these values means: - Crafting a vision and mission statement that reflects your core values and guides your business practices. - Designing your brand to visually and conceptually represent these values. - Creating marketing and communication strategies that resonate with your values and connect authentically with your audience. It also involves: - Implementing policies and procedures that ensure ethical behavior and decision-making. - Using data to track and improve the environmental and social impact of your business. - Regularly reviewing and adjusting your strategies to stay aligned with your values, using feedback and analytics. It is a new week to integrate your values into every aspect of your business, so you can foster trust and loyalty among your stakeholders, and ensure long-term success and sustainability. This path isn't always the easiest, but it's the most rewarding. Staying true to your values will help your business flourish in ways you never imagined. #PurposeDriven #CEO #Marketing #Impact #SuccessStrategy #BrandBuilding #Partnerships #ThePathRedefined

Your culture is the invisible force that shapes how people feel about your brand. And it starts with your leadership — → The way you hire and train → How you embed values into your work → The processes you deploy → The way you demonstrate who you are …these subtle cues convey so much about your brand. Because in a world of copycat products and services… …culture is your secret weapon. It's the DNA that can make your company so special. Here's how to harness it: ↓ 1️⃣ Live out your values Don't just write your company principles on a mission statement and forget about them. Embody them. And actively reward team members who embody them. At Motto, we recognize when someone demonstrates our values through kudos, performance, bonuses, and other recognitions. Whether it's showing radical candor or going the extra mile, we celebrate it. 2️⃣ Rally around a Big Idea Every company worth remembering has a Big Idea that clearly and concisely defines their reasons for existing. Express this in big ways — how your company operates as a whole — and in small ways. For example, the way you end team meetings. We sign off with "Do big things" to remind everyone they're here to do exceptional work. 3️⃣ Embed your values in hiring Your job postings and career page should reflect your culture’s transparency and values. We, for instance, outline each step of our hiring process upfront. This helps us proactively recruit candidates who align with our values and can handle our high-performance environment (while screening out those who can’t). 4️⃣ Proactively invest in growth Each of your employees is an asset. Give team members chances to learn and teach others what they’ve learned. On Friday, we give one hour for our team to take classes and share their knowledge with the team. It builds their skills *and* confidence in leadership. 5️⃣ Use failure as fuel When you hit a wall, always see it as a chance to innovate and bounce back even greater. Embed this into your company DNA more than anything else. Your culture isn't just internal. It shows up in every interaction with customers, partners, and the public. So, nurture it carefully. The culture you nurture today is the brand you have tomorrow.

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