Your Values Are Being Challenged All The Time

Dissect the forces that can throw your company values off in a major way

Hi, friends!

I was working with a CEO recently who astutely shared that her company values needed a subtle, yet thoughtful revamp. I gave some thought to how this is both natural, and incredibly important to stay on top of. Below are those thoughts. I hope you find some value in them!

Also, further below is an update on that course for Execs who want to advise / consult that I’ve been yapping on about. tl;dr — it’s open for enrollment!

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Your Values Are Being Challenged All The Time

Have you ever worked with someone long enough that you don’t need to guess where they stand on an issue?

You’ve developed a shorthand that allows you to navigate situations efficiently. You share a sixth sense about things – and you can call one another out if something feels inconsistent or amiss.

I’d argue that, in many cases, this is because you share a set of values with this person, (whether explicitly stated, or not) – and these values serve as a foundation for your day-to-day assessments. 

Trust plays a massive role too – allowing both of you to engage openly, without clouded mystery or dancing around the bush.

Stating (and living) values as a young company is a way to scale this shared sense without bias and extra delay. When values are defined and clear, a team can quickly get on the same page and get to work.

How values drift

As organizations of people get larger and the context that you’re operating in gets more complex, things change in both big and small ways. Whether you realize it or not, your company values get tested.

And this likely happens more often than you think.

These tests can be small – like that “incredible candidate” that you have to swoop on who happens to be an asshole – or big, like that decision to hire a VP of Product. 

Both of these tests can either help you build conviction in your shared values, or rock them to their core. 

Over time, if you let your eye off of the ball, these tests will cause your values to unintentionally drift.

Dissecting forces that cause values to drift

When thinking about these tests, I started considering them as “forces” that are both generated within and outside your company.

Some internal forces:

• Team shifts

  • We’ve all seen this— leadership turns over and soon, the next level down does too. This undoubtedly changes how decisions are made: what is prioritized, who is hired, and how you connect across organizations all start to feel different.

• Strategy shifts

  • New product lines bring a new customer segment of focus to the center. New customers require different motions from the team (in terms of team responsiveness or product quality, for example), and internal practices begin to shift or conflict in response.

• Operational shifts

  • New processes or controls lead to new types of conversations. These conversations can reinforce existing values or require a new perspective to be meaningful.

  Because I love diagrams — I will now present you with one:

In the context of company-building and scaling, here are some examples of what this could look like:

• Poisonous leaders: you hire a new rockstar Chief Product Officer who you later learn is uncollaborative and breeds an “us vs. them” mindset between teams. Before you know it, your values of transparency and collaboration are gone – and information-hoarding is the new standard.

• Over-corrections: Leadership agrees there’s a cross-functional execution issue. The fix: a quarterly planning process to reinforce the importance of “intentionality” (a new value!) Initially, it’s beneficial — but a year later — “intentionality” has lost its original meaning, and the process no longer serves the purpose.

• Whale customers: you land a huge contract with a new enterprise customer. Your team over-indexes on servicing the whale, and a couple of quarters later, you realize it’s at the expense of the rest of your business (and maybe, your culture).

And those are the things that are in your control.

There are also external factors that deeply challenge the day-to-day of teams:

• Cultural shifts: a global pandemic, a natural disaster, or a war cause major disruption to your de facto work setup. Now, all collaboration and info-sharing mechanisms require immediate revamping—which can strain process and people, and in turn, your values. 

• Economic shifts: funding or labor markets shift, reducing growth, pipeline and / or runway. Morale follows. Before you know it, your team defaults need to change.

The Bottom Line

Your company values are your compass, and they exist to keep your teams calibrated with one another on which way is North. If properly utilized, they are there to reduce noise, speed up decision-making, and provide continuity as you scale. 

But scaling never happens in a clean silo. The journey of company-building is riddled with both self-inflicted (internal) and totally outside-of-control (external) forces that will test your values. Many will present you with an opportunity to reinforce and strengthen your values set, or they will provide an opening for unintentional drift.

As a leader, your role is to provide that continuity – and your values are worthy of your focus and intentionality. 

A best practice is to regularly check in to ensure congruence between your stated values, your everyday culture, and the needs and aspirations of your business. I have a framework for doing this that I’ll share in my next post.

<3

Amanda

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Are you a leader interested in exploring a new chapter as a solo advisor or consultant? If so, I’ve got a course for you :)

This is essentially the course that I wish I had when starting Garden Labs. In it, I cover the fundamentals of defining a unique (and targeted) offering, building a pipeline of real opportunities, and setting up / managing a back-office. Everything will be infused with real first-hand examples, tools and insight.

Click here to learn more

My goal with this first cohort is to curate a group of seasoned leaders, and support them deeply in their transitions.

If you or someone you know is interested in making this shift — I'd love to chat!

I’m also leading a Free Lightning Lesson on Maven on Aug 14 to talk a bit about the transition, and will dig into how to evaluate the path for yourself. RSVP here.