Company Values: Myth or Reality?

Management & LeadershipTeamwork & CooperationManagers≈ 20 min

Key skill: Leadership & vision

Summary

Move from displayed values to lived values: build a clear foundation, translate it into concrete behaviours, and embed it in daily life to strengthen cohesion, guide decisions, and ease conflict resolution.

Target audience

Any manager looking to promote a positive model of communication and collaboration.

Learning objectives

Implement values at work (rather than rules) to foster cooperation.
Use values to give meaning to action and guide commitment.
Strengthen cohesion and structure ways of collaborating through values.
Use values to promote the company's DNA, both internally and externally.

Module outline

StorytellingAn exploration of the crucial concept of "Why" in business success, illustrated with examples like Apple and Martin Luther King
ArticlesValues versus Rules, according to Francis Boyer · Exogenous and endogenous values, with examples (Ritz-Carlton, Novotel) · Values Alert: how to respond when values aren't upheld
Expert videoExploring the importance of company values and how to put them into practice
AnchoringQuiz and True/False questions to dive deeper into the topic and cement what you've learned
Memo cardDownloadable coaching memo card: the key points from the expert video
CommitmentConcrete examples to help you define your own commitment
BonusA selection of videos to go further (TED, YouTube)

Models & methods

The values/rules distinction; translating values into behaviours; Laloux's organisational maturity model; 360° evaluation.

Research-based

65% of large French companies have a values document; "Reinventing Organizations" by Frédéric Laloux; companies cited: Airbnb, Zappos.