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
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