Values Foundation

Strengthen Desired Culture and Behavior

What is a values foundation?

A values foundation is an articulation of the ideals that are highly regarded in the workplace. Values are the beliefs meant to guide employee behavior. You’ll often find a values foundation alongside an organization’s mission and vision. These three are frequently blended together, but it’s crucial to distinguish between them:

Mission is the organization’s fundamental purpose—its reason for existence. The mission anchors where the organization stands and clarifies what it exists to achieve. It is a timeless statement of why the organization exists.
Vision expresses the picture of the desirable, long-term future for the organization. While the mission grounds the organization, the vision sets direction for development—answering: Where do we want to go? What does our ideal situation look like in three, five, or seven years? What do we hope to achieve then that we haven’t yet?
Values (or values foundation), unlike mission and vision, are not about results to be created now or in the future. Instead, they specify what should characterize employee behavior so that the organization can succeed. Values act as a collective benchmark—clarifying which behaviors are within or outside organizational boundaries.

Benefits of a well-defined values foundation

Values stem from theories of values-based leadership. They are concise, abstract ideas about desired behaviors employees should demonstrate—guiding ideals and overarching beliefs.

The rationale behind values-based leadership is that today’s world is more unpredictable than what classic management theories explain. Leaders rarely get far by simply commanding employees—especially knowledge workers who may have deeper expertise than their managers.

Values-based leadership is for leaders who want to guide their organizations by “freedom with responsibility”—not total freedom, but within shared frameworks that help everyone fulfill the mission and realize the vision.

Freedom with responsibility is one of the main benefits of a well-defined values foundation. Strict rules and procedures can quickly become obstacles for highly educated staff who need to make quick decisions using their expertise.

With values-based leadership and a clear values foundation, leaders delegate more responsibility—allowing employees to make more decisions themselves. The goal is for values to serve as shared reference points so people can self-manage within clear boundaries set by those values.

Values thus offer an alternative to rule-based organizations by clarifying the behavioral space within which employees can act.

Stronger reputation and differentiation

Another advantage—especially relevant to HR and marketing—is that clear values contribute to a stronger reputation. When communicated externally, values clarify what your organization stands for, takes pride in upholding, and attributes meaning to. This helps differentiate your organization and gives potential employees, citizens, or customers a clear sense of your culture and approach.

If employees, customers, and users “see themselves” in your values, it becomes easier to attract new talent—and win support from those you serve. Current staff and leaders can also assess their actions against these values: Are we behaving consistently with our stated principles? Or does something need to change?

Metaphorically, a values foundation is a behavioral compass employees can navigate by—and a differentiation tool clarifying what your organization stands for.

How we can help you

We offer leadership and organizational sparring sessions, research-based education, presentations on values foundations as well as training programs specifically focused on equipping you with general management competencies.

See examples of our services here:

Presentations

Inspirational research-based presentations on values foundations for all levels within your organization.

Sparring

Advisory support regarding your organizational development or key initiatives.

Workshop

Facilitation of active workshops focused on competence development at management or executive level.

Successfully anchoring a values foundation

While we’ve highlighted the benefits of values-based leadership, it’s also important to consider typical risks that can hinder successful anchoring:

Many organizations simply formulate a list of value words (e.g., “collaboration” or “innovation”). This isn’t enough—values must be unfolded into value statements so employees have a nuanced understanding of what behaviors embody each value.
Values must be translated through dialogue with employees—not just launched on posters or mugs as superficial branding. Deep conversations about their meaning are needed; leaders must lead by example as role models.
Values must be systematically anchored in existing routines—not left to live on their own once written down. They should be integrated into performance reviews, recruitment materials, onboarding processes—and enforced when ignored or violated in daily behavior.

In short: working with values is not just an outcome—it’s an ongoing process that creates lasting results.

How LEAD can help develop and anchor your values foundation

At LEAD we specialize in supporting organizations in developing and anchoring their values foundations.

We have extensive experience facilitating processes that lead to robust foundations—helping both private and public organizations articulate their core values and serving as trusted advisors for leadership teams seeking support with daily integration.

Our services range from inspirational talks about key focus points when developing/anchoring values—to facilitating longer-term participatory processes where we help gather, analyze, condense, and synthesize input through workshops, dialogue salons, or interviews. We can also help develop your leaders’ skills in values-based leadership alongside this process.

The consulting team working with values foundations

Maja Nyboe Bjerrehuus

Chief Consultant

Kim Martin Nielsen

Partner

Contact us for more information about what we can do for your organization

Are you facing organizational change? Do you need strategic advice or a cultural development program?

Contact us so we can tailor together a program that develops precisely those competencies and structures needed to strengthen and future-proof your organization.

Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen

Managing Director & Partner

Master of Law

Mobile: +45 22 42 18 11
Email: aba@lead.eu