Why Are Core Values So Important?

During the first session of the From Vision to Action Leadership Training, which I taught annually for 24 years before retiring, I would ask the students the following question: “What are the key building blocks for generating sustainable, organizational success?”. Over the years, the answers would vary, often depending on the most recent New York Times best-seller book on leadership, management, or organizational change. 

Then, we would explore my answer to the question, which was the following:

- a cohesive leadership team that can engage in a robust dialogue.

- a strategic plan that integrates with an annual and quarterly performance management system which offers freedom, defines responsibility, and measures for accountability, and connects to a workable budget so people can monitor/display fiscal responsibility too.

- a communication systems that cascades information down into the organization in an accurate and timely manner.

- flexible and disciplined employees who can utilize their strengths and talents to achieve their goals.

- a cohesive organizational culture based on shared purpose/ mission, vision, and is empowered by a set of defined core values.

This was always a lively conversation with many people chiming in about different pieces that they missed or had not considered. We always agreed that this was not the complete and final answer to the question, but instead it was an excellent place to start exploring this important subject in greater detail, which is what we did over the four different class sessions.  

Next, we would examine the role of a strategic nexus. This nexus was made up of two parts, one being a core ideology, namely a vision, mission, and core values, and the other part being a strategic plan with goals and metrics. The purpose of the core ideology was to preserve the core of the company, i.e. the cultural DNA, and to be the piece that does not change, i.e. the line of continuity through change. The purpose of the strategic plan was to stimulate progress and to prevent status quo from becoming stagnant. It also increased urgency and created focus for all involved. 

As we discussed the subject of a strategic nexus, we always ended up exploring the role and importance of core values. First, all involved needed to understand that mission (what we do), vision (an aspirational destination, for lack of a better word), and core values (what guides our behaviors and decisions on a daily basis) form a trinity that is the core of thee company. While we can examine one of the three in great detail, they come as a package and their unity is critical to short and long term success. 

Based on my experiences as a consultant, I don’t think many leaders grasp the importance of the core values in the daily life of employees within a company. I remember one time years ago when we gathered for the second session of the From Vision to Action Leadership, that a student returned to class and was extremely upset with me. She had left the first session of class, and was fired up about the importance of core values. So, she traveled back home, wrote them up for her company, told everyone at work what the new core values were, and how she expected everyone to embrace them and role model them in all they did on a daily basis. And then, she waited to see a new level of performance to happen. However, most people ignored them, or just gave them lip service and nothing else. Not a single employee changed their behavior during the weeks that followed. So, by the time she came to the second session of class, she was mad. 

With her permission, we discussed as a class what had happened, and how this was a common problem that many leaders experienced. First, I had to point out that core values are an important part of the cultural DNA of the organization. But, in order for this to happen, the core values need to be owned and understood by the people who have execute them. Second, this level of ownership and understanding has to transcend time and place, meaning it has to get transferred and embraced by new employees, managers, and leaders. In essence, the company has to choose to institutionalize their core values and support people who role model them in the moment and over time. 

For when I have worked with companies who have chosen to make this long term commitment to their core values, leaders at all levels of the company, along with employees, recognize that the core values are integral to individual, and our shared, collective success within the company. They generate this success based on an alignment between inner clarity and outer action. They also come to understand that the core values are non-negotiable, not conditional or contextual. In short, they are lived on daily basis, and represent disciplined choices made over time. 

Translating core values into clear and concise core behaviors takes in-depth dialogue, and practical examples of what they look like in action. Nevertheless, in successful companies, you can witness these values in action by what people choose to do and not do. In essence, they reflect our beliefs translated into action and choices, culminating in a common understanding and shared commitment. 

During the coming weeks and months, I recommend you unpack your current core values, and discuss what they mean, and what they look like in action. Doing this will help all involve be better prepared for current and emerging challenges. 

© Geery Howe 2026

Geery Howe, M.A. Executive Coach in Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Change

Life By Design

Last summer, I was at a potluck with friends when one of them said to me: “I drive by a lot of houses with flower beds. Some are pretty, and some are just okay. But when I drive by your house, I think to myself ‘those flower beds are just nicer. They are pleasant to the eye’.”

“Thanks,” I replied.

“So, why are your beds different?”, he asked.

“My flower beds are built by design,” I shared. “It is easy to buy plants and to plant them. And often this results in some pretty flower beds. But the difference at our house is that I have designed the flower beds in a thoughtful manner. I also have gotten to know the plants, and created a pattern within the bed that unifies it and highlights different plants over the course of the growing season.” 

He nodded  thoughtfully, and said, “Oh, I get it now.” 

Starting in mid-August and running through to the end of September, I routinely will go through the various flower beds around our house and check on the original design to see if it is still the right design. For example, the sun bed in the back with the purple cone flowers no longer works, because the nearby maple tree has grown and created significant shade. So, the flowers are moved out, and this coming spring the shade loving hostas will be moved in. 

In another example, I had to do a complete restoration of four different iris beds last fall. During the previous spring, the iris had stopped blooming. What is interesting about iris plants is that they spread by growing their rhizomes outward. While they do not spread aggressively, they do form clumps that can become over crowded, choking off the flowering part of the iris. And this is what I suspected had happened over time. 

So last fall, I lifted all the iris plants with my garden fork. What I discovered was a dense mat of rhizomes, wildly intertwined with each other. I then understood that they could not flower because there was no room for further growth. So, with my clippers, I had to break up these mats of rhizomes, let go of the old dysfunctional parts of the plants, and find the original healthy part of the plants. By removing the older and no longer viable rhizomes, I was rejuvenating the plants, and ultimately restoring the original design to the whole flower bed. 

In short, during each growing season, I need to weed here and there in order to restore the original design. Sometimes, I also need to completely restore a flower bed, because the natural environment in that flower bed has evolved. The overall goal is to maintain, and as needed, to evolve the core design. 

Richard Pascale, Mark Millemann, and Linda Gioja in their book, Surfing The Edge of Chaos: The Laws of Nature and the New Laws of Business (Three Rivers Press, 2000), write that “business … can learn a lot from nature.” As they explain, nature, e.g. a rain forest, is a complex adaptive system. So is the human immune system, a termite colony, or a business. The challenge is that “complexity and chaos are frequently used interchangeably, even though they have nothing in common. The world is not chaotic; it is complex,” and humans “tend to regard chaotic that which they can not control.” They note that chaos is “an unlikely occurrence in which patterns cannot be found nor interrelationships understood. On the other hand, complexity “may feel chaotic but really it just is a complex adaptive system or event.”

Therefore, these authors recommend that we “design, don’t engineer” when dealing with complexity. To understand this recommendation, we need to understand the difference between designing something and engineering something. First, designing is the creative process of conceptualizing and planning, focusing on the form, purpose and meaning in order to create a workable solution. On the other hand, engineering is the application of scientific principles to analyze, develop, and build that solution, ensuring it is functional, scalable, safe, and practical for long-term use. The former focuses on inspiration, vision, and clear direction and/or intent, while the later focuses on feasibility and functionality. In short, design focuses on what we want, and engineering usually happens when there is a clear idea about what needs to be built. In short, the authors recommend we “design with the outcome/purpose in mind,” and then “discover what is working and build on that.”

When I reflect on these insights, I think about the world of training. Anybody can stand up, and talk for an hour or even six hours. Anybody can also offer a workshop or a training on various subjects. But the subtle and important difference between a good workshop and an excellent one is that the best trainings have been designed. It is the instructional design process that happens before the teaching that makes the teaching so powerful. 

Building on this perspective, the same goes with life and living. A life based on clarity of purpose and intent is a life created by design, not by default or by control. Instead, it is a life created by understanding what matters the most, and then building a life based on this inner clarity. It all boils down to first the design, and then the engineering. 

As we move through these winter months, all of us need to take stock, and think deeply about the design and intent of our life. Then, when we have figured out what matters most, we need to create this life, at home and at work. We need to design and then build a life based on purpose and clear intention. The outcome of this choice may requires us to restore some parts of our life, weed out other parts of our life, and actively design and create new parts so that what matters most is not lost in the change of the seasons. 

For me, winter is the perfect time to step back and look for the design in the midst of complexity, and on some days, we need to do this even when life feels chaotic. But with the right amount of reflection, dialogue, and discovery, we can find, and create a life so that ourselves and those we love and cherish can have the right amount of space to grow and flourish. 

Spring is coming sooner than we think, and now is the time to prepare for the miracle of the land awakening to new sounds, shapes and colors. This week, I encourage you to create a life based on design, rather than by default or by control. 

© Geery Howe 2026

Geery Howe, M.A. Executive Coach in Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Change

How Do We Navigate Ambiguity?

This is probably one of the most important questions a leader needs to answer right now. The challenge of how to navigate ambiguity is not going away. Instead, it is continuing to expand, and to generate a high degree of complexity. 

As we explore this question in more depth, we need to start with a definition of the word, ambiguity. The dictionary tells us that it is “the quality of being open to more than one interpretation”. It also states that it is “something unclear that can be understood in more than one way.” For example, it’s when a word, phrase, or situation has multiple possible meanings, creating uncertainty about the true intention or message. 

One form of ambiguity is moral ambiguity, which can be described as an ethical dilemma, a grey area, or a point of moral complexity. It is situation where it is difficult to determine what is the right or wrong path to choose. 

In the business world, ambiguity refers to a situation in which it is difficult to make decisions or predictions due to a lack of, or conflicting information. In the world of leadership, this often translates into strategic ambiguity or strategic uncertainty, namely a situation where it is difficult to discern which is the right path to take given the lack of, or conflicting information. 

In times of ambiguity, Kevin Cashman in his book, The Pause Principle: Step Back to Lead Forward (Berrett-Koehler, 2012), writes “All too often, we allow ourselves to be carried away by our busy-ness. We are too hyperactive, too reactive to even notice the hidden value-creating dynamics waiting just under the surface within us and around us. Tethered to our smartphones, we are too caught up and distracted to take the time necessary to sort through complexity or to locate submerged purpose. In our urgent rush to get ‘there,’ we are going everywhere but being nowhere. Far too busy managing with transitive speed, we rarely step back to lead with transformative significance.”

Cashman also reminds us of the Second Law of Thermodynamics: As activity lessens, order increases. Therefore, he recommends we activate The Pause Principle, which “is the conscious, intentional process of stepping back, within ourselves and outside ourselves, to lead forward with greater authenticity, purpose, and contribution.” As he continues, “The greater the complexity, the deeper the reflective pause required to convert the complex and ambiguous to the clear and meaningful. Pause helps us to move from the transitive or hyperactive to the transformative.”

Margaret Wheatley understands this perspective when she wrote, “Thinking is the place where intelligent actions begin. We pause long enough to look more carefully at a situation, to see more of its character, to think about why it’s happening, to notice how it’s affecting us and others.” 

From my experience and observations, effective leaders pause and hold ambiguity in dialogue. This choice makes a profound difference on many levels within the leader and the organization. But to grasp this choice, we need to unpack the word dialogue and understand it’s meaning in greater detail. 

Dialogue originates from the Greek word dialogs, which is the combination of dia meaning “through or between,” and logos meaning “word or speech.” It literally means a flow of meaning through or between words and people. Next, there are two types of dialogue, namely the outer form between two or more people, and the inner dialogue with oneself. Both forms of dialogue revolve around discovering a flow of meaning, i.e. an on-going and ever-evolving understanding of meaning and clarity. 

When effective leaders pause and hold ambiguity in dialogue, I am reminded of the late Stephen Covey and his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Free Press, 1989). In it, Covey explains the choice between focusing on the circle of concern vs. the circle of influence. The circle of concern included everything that concerned an individual, even if they had little or no control over it. The circle of influence, on the other hand, encompassed all the things one could directly influence or impact, even if they did not have complete control. Covey advocated for the reader to shift their focus from their circle of concern to their circle of influence in order to take steps that could make a positive difference in their life and in the lives of others. 

Upon reflection, during times of ambiguity and uncertainty, I think we first need to focus on creating, and then being in a circle of reflection and dialogue before we focus on our circle of influence. The goal is to start from a place of meaning and clarity before action rather than to attempt, and hope to discover clarity and meaning only through action. 

Within this unique circle, we need to pause and look at things, issues, or problems from multiple angles and various perspectives. We also need to seek out the wise counsel of others, and to listen deeply to their insights, lessons learned, and perspective. For it is the combination of reflection and dialogue that will lead us to actions that are mission-driven, vision-led, and values-based.

Given the current lack of information, and/or conflicting information plus the ongoing uncertainty about the intentions of others, near and far, ambiguity and uncertainty will continue to create dynamic complexity. Our choice as leaders is to remember and pause, reflect, and dialogue, internally and externally, in order to make thoughtful choices rather than reactive choices. As Lisa Miller, PhD writes, “… outward goals are no substitute for larger meaning and purpose.” And now is the time to discover or recover larger meaning and purpose, internally and externally, in order to navigate well through ambiguity. 

© Geery Howe 2026

Geery Howe, M.A. Executive Coach in Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Change

Be Grateful For The Ordinary

Early in my career as a consultant, trainer and executive coach, I spent a lot of time teaching nursing continuing education classes on the subject of how to teach patients stress management techniques as part of their healing and recovery process. These six hour workshops were in-depth, and involved listening and sharing by all the participants.

One afternoon when talking about how to help patients maintain perspective during challenging times, one of the nurses shared the following story. As she explained, “I am a night nurse on a medical surgical floor. It is long hours and lots of work. Some nights are quiet and other nights it is crazy.

On this particular shift, it was one of those wildly crazy nights with all the call lights flashing. We were running hither and yon to keep up with everything. It also was my last shift of a multi-day cycle of being on duty, and I was tired, worn to the core, and feeling overworked.

I rushed into this room, flicked off the call light and asked the patient what she needed. She just looked at me, paused for a moment, and said, ‘Are you having a bad day?’

I looked at her. She looked at me. And I just unloaded all my frustrations. I shared about my work, the kids, my marriage, my in-laws, life on the farm, and the weather. It just all came tumbling out of me. I was embarrassed.

She listened well, and then replied, ‘Let’s switch. You can have my breast cancer. I’d give anything to go home tonight to my family, and to my baby. I would wash a bucket of poppy diapers with a smile on my face just to be home tonight. It’s really all about perspective.’

She was 100% correct. Then, I helped her with her bed pan and thanked her for teaching me what was most important.”

There are days when we get so busy that we forget to be more grateful for the ordinary moments of life. Instead, we believe “busy” is the new definition of success. People wear it as a badge of honor, and frame it up as a new status symbol. I am busy and thus I am successful.

We get caught in this trap because we are trying to fix everything around us. We also get busy because we are trying to control everything and everyone around us. It’s all about keep everything and everyone under control. The upshot of which is that we get so busy that we end up numb to life’s miracles. In short, we have lost our gratefulness for the ordinary moments.

On the days that our lives are spinning out of control with sickness, pain, divorce, or loss, we pray for miracles. We pray for it all to go back to “normal”. In short, we pray for the ordinary, namely the chance to get up, eat breakfast, and go to work without pain, without sorrow, and without fear or confusion. 

We are not really seeking perfection. We are seeking the intersection between happiness and meaning. As Dr. Marshall Goldsmith and Dr. Kelly Goldsmith wrote, “In determining a personal mission, you need to make sure that you take into account both happiness and meaning. By happiness we are referring to your personal enjoyment of the process itself, not just the results. In other words, at the high end of the scale, you love what you are doing. By meaning we are referring to the value that you attribute to the results of your work. At the high end of the scale, you deeply believe that the outcome of what you are doing is important.” 

As they continue, “Maximize the amount of time that you are experiencing simultaneous happiness and meaning.” When we are grateful for the ordinary, we open up the opportunity to experience an intersection between happiness and meaning. We also remember to be kind to everyone, because each of us are doing the best we can with the tools we have.

© Geery Howe 2026

Geery Howe, M.A. Executive Coach in Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Change

Battling With A Ground Hog

Some days we think we are doing just fine until we run into a problem that stumps us. For me, it was a ground hog trying to make a home under our front porch one year as winter approached. I first noticed that we had a problem when I saw that something had chewed through the lattice along side of our porch steps. So I went to the lumber yard and purchased a fresh sheet of lattice, cut it to the right size, and installed it.

The next day I discovered that the “new” lattice was chewed through. Now, I went to the garden center and purchased a variety of repellants in powder and spray form to stop what ever was chewing on our house. I also went back to the lumber yard and purchased more lattice.

This became a recurring problem. More chewing so I applied more repellant. Then, it was purchasing more “new” lattice. Finally, after a couple of cycles, I covered it all in chicken wire.

The next morning I discovered that what ever was chewing on our house had chewed through the chicken wire too. I was flummoxed. So, I found a neighbor with a trap and put it beside the worst part of the damage. 

I also started asking people for advice. A farmer recommended I use an anhydrous tank to solve the problem. Someone else said I should use the exhaust from a car to solve the problem. One person suggested I purchase coyote urine or use my own to solve the problem. I wasn’t open to any of these solutions.

The problem continued so I hired a “critter removal” service. They installed a bigger trap and we caught a squirrel. Next, we caught a skunk, but the critter removal service told me that my real problem was a ground hog who was looking for a place to make it’s home for winter. 

The spot under our porch must have been the best place. It also must have been a very smart ground hog with a PhD, because we never caught it in the trap. Instead, I went out one morning and discovered a massive hole in the ground.

By now, I was one mad homeowner. I’d had it with this problem, and just wanted to finish it “once and for all.” So, I got on my work clothes, a hat, headlamp, dust mask, knee pads, a trash can lid and a pointy stick. Then, I removed all the lattice and chicken wire and crawled under our porch. On one level, I was checking to make sure I did not trap the groundhog under the porch once I made the final repairs. I also think my inner, cave man brain had kicked in, and I just wanted to have it out with the beast.

There I was all hunched over under the porch when I began to think again. “What are you doing?”, I asked myself. “This is the dumbest idea you’ve had in quite some time.” Quietly, I crawled out from under the front porch, and then sat on the front porch steps. I needed space for reflection. Previously, I had not given myself permission to take the time to do this.

Slowly, a new solution came to me. First, I had to think like a groundhog. I did not need chicken wire because I wasn’t dealing with a chicken. Instead, I purchased industrial grade hardware cloth and, of course more lattice. 

Next, I installed the hardware cloth first, then the new lattice and finally more hardware cloth. I also dug the hardware cloth into the ground one inch deep and out for two feet. It looked great.

The following morning I discover one more big hole. Unbeknownst to me, the ground hog had been asleep under the porch when I had crawled in. Lucky I got out when I did!

As I stood looking at the massive exit hole, another neighbor walked over, and saw me staring at the hole. “You want to stop that from happening?”, he asked me.

“Yes”, I replied.

“Drop some old rocks and junk in that tunnel. Then pour in my old bag of powdered concrete. Add a gallon of water. Cover it up with an inch of dirt and in a couple of hours you will have one big massive concrete plug. There is no way they can dig through concrete.” So, I followed his advice and created a large “concrete plug.” I have never had a problem since that day.

On that cool fall day, I learned two important lessons. First, I needed to ask more people for advice. I also need to role model “intellectual humility”, a term Ryan Holiday talks about in his book, Stillness Is The Key (Portfolio/Penguin, 2019).

The second lesson I learned was that I did not need to rush to a solution. Reflection is a powerful first step to finding a solution. As John Paul Lederach wrote in his book, The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace (Oxford University Press, 2005): “When overwhelmed by complexity,” the haiku master said, “seek the elegant essence that holds it all together.” For me that day, it was a massive concrete plug.

When complexity enters our lives, I encourage all of us to schedule more time for reflection, to role model intellectual humility, and to seek the elegant essence that holds it all together.

© Geery Howe 2026

Geery Howe, M.A. Executive Coach in Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Change