In boardrooms and strategy sessions across the globe, one topic dominates conversations about culture: VALUES. They are hailed as the north star of organisational identity, guiding behaviour, shaping decisions, and anchoring culture. Yet, beneath this emphasis lies a persistent challenge — values confusion. Too often, the language of values blurs personal beliefs with corporate priorities, leaving both leaders and employees caught in a fog of interpretation.
The Values Dilemma
Personal values reflect how individuals choose to live their lives; organisational values, however, signify what truly takes precedence when decisions are made. In culturally diverse hubs such as London, Toronto, Melbourne, or New York, invoking “values” in the workplace can unleash a cacophony of meanings. What one individual sees as integrity, another interprets through a different cultural lens. The result is ambiguity at best, misalignment at worst.
This confusion is particularly pronounced in the widespread notion of “values-based hiring.” The idea seems compelling: find candidates whose personal values align with those of the organisation. Yet in practice, this is fraught with complexity. Assessment tools designed to surface values are often riddled with cultural bias, reflecting the assumptions of their creators. Add the inherent flaws of self-reporting, and the reliability of such methods comes into question. Attempting to match personal convictions with organisational aspirations is, more often than not, an imprecise exercise.
A Shift in Language and Clarity
Perhaps the way forward lies not in abandoning values, but in redefining how we articulate them. By reframing organisational values as guiding principles, leaders create a sharper, outcome-oriented framework. Guiding principles clarify intent and move from abstract ideals to tangible commitments.
For instance, rather than simply stating “innovation” as a value, an organisation could express it as: “to deliver at least one new product to market every 18 months.” Suddenly, innovation is not an abstract notion; it becomes a measurable expectation. This shift has a profound impact. If something can be measured, it can be managed. And when guiding principles are described in outcome terms, they cease to be lofty aspirations and instead become operational realities.
When hiring, this clarity provides a practical compass. The key question ceases to be whether a candidate’s personal values align neatly with a corporate list. Instead, it becomes: does their career history suggest they would be anything less than fully committed to these guiding principles? This subtle shift reframes the conversation from alignment of beliefs to alignment of behaviours and commitments — areas where evidence is far more reliable.
Guiding Principles in a Digital Age
The urgency of this clarity has only grown in an era shaped by emerging technologies. Artificial intelligence, automation, and data-driven decision-making are redefining business models and reshaping industries. These forces expose cultural fault lines with stark efficiency.
If “responsible use of AI” is named as a guiding principle, what does that mean in practice? Does it translate into transparent algorithms, human oversight, and accountability frameworks? If “sustainability” is a commitment, how is it embedded into the supply chain when global disruptions test resilience? When guiding principles are outcome-based, they give organisations a blueprint to navigate the ethical and strategic complexities that technology and globalisation bring to the surface.
The organisations thriving in this new environment are those where culture keeps pace with innovation. Guiding principles provide continuity in a world where disruption is constant. They allow leaders to ask not just, can we do this?, but should we do this?
Bridging the Disconnect
Too often, organisational values fail to live up to their promise. They adorn annual reports and office walls but are disconnected from daily decision-making. Employees quickly notice when the rhetoric of values differs from the lived reality. This disconnect erodes trust, undermines culture, and blurs the organisation’s competitive edge.
The most powerful guiding principles are those that both articulate what makes the organisation special and are visibly reinforced through consistent action. When leaders embody these principles, when strategy is filtered through them, and when performance is assessed against them, culture ceases to be rhetoric and becomes reality.
Leading in an Era of Complexity
Global leaders are navigating a perfect storm of economic uncertainty, geopolitical shifts, climate pressures, and technological acceleration. In such an environment, culture cannot remain static. It must evolve into a living system of guiding principles that both distinguish the organisation and unite its people around a shared sense of purpose.
Importantly, diversity of thought, background, and belief is not a barrier to cultural cohesion but a source of strength. The challenge is not to demand uniformity of personal values but to create clarity of organisational guiding principles — so that amid disruption, there is no ambiguity about what matters most.
A Path Forward
As leadership continues to evolve in response to shifting global dynamics, guiding principles will serve as both compass and anchor. They shape how organisations attract and select talent, how leaders make decisions under pressure, and how culture transforms from aspirational rhetoric into competitive advantage.
Values confusion is real. But with sharper language, measurable commitments, and a willingness to embed principles into the very fabric of strategy, organisations can move beyond slogans.
When guiding principles are authentic, actionable, and fit for a digital age, culture ceases to be words on a wall — it becomes the heartbeat of leadership.
This article explores themes and concepts from content by John O. Burdett.
John O. Burdett is founder of Orxestra® Inc. He has extensive international experience as a senior executive. As a consultant he has worked in more than 40 countries for organisations that are household names. John has worked on organisation culture for some of the world’s largest organisations. His ongoing partnership with TRANSEARCH International means that his thought leading intellectual property, in any one year, supports talent management in many hundreds of organisations around the world.
