Establishing core values is a fundamental aspect of brand development. But in order for them to make a real impact on your workforce and its related audience, a set of associated behaviors and practices must be brought to life through the management system itself.
Aligning your brand’s management style with its set of values is a great way to demonstrate your commitment to them—and your willingness to embrace a tangible, thorough approach to seeing them actualized in real life. But style and value alignment isn’t always easy.
It takes a lot of patience, strategy, and clarity to fully impart the core tenets of your company’s philosophy into its management system. However, with the right approach, anything is possible.
So, grab your coffee and strap yourself in, because you’re about to learn how to get aligned.
What Are the Benefits of Corporate-Aligned Values?
Having a management style that aligns with your company’s values is a powerful way to lead an organization. Not only does it show customers that you’re serious about providing a purpose-driven experience, but it also shows employees that you can walk the talk.
There are many benefits to implementing a value-driven corporate culture, such as:
- Better decision-making – When you have clarity around what your values are, it’s easier to make both ethical and strategic decisions.
- Enhanced sense of purpose – When you work for a company that takes values and positive corporate culture seriously, it contributes to a greater sense of purpose.
- Improved employee retention – Employees that work at purpose-driven companies are more likely to commit to their role. It helps them associate more loyalty and pride with the work they do, thus boosting employee retention rates.
- Better performance – Another benefit of purpose-led companies is that they can motivate employees to work harder and apply more innovative thinking to their work.
- Improved relationships – Having strong company values indicates a desire for growth, vision, and harmony. All of which helps to nurture professional relationships.
All in all, having clear, humanizing, and tangible company values helps your brand gain more productivity momentum, inspire employee loyalty, and contribute to an overall sense of purpose and well-being within the workplace.
10 Ways to Align Your Management Style With Company Values
The benefits of a merger between management style and company values are obvious. But actually executing that union is easier said than done.
There are so many factors to consider:
- Budget
- Resource capabilities
- Structure
- Timelines
and more…
But for something with such high potential for growth, loyalty, and brand sustainability, making value alignment an official part of your management structure is well worth it.
So, how do you accomplish this balance? In the following ten tips, we’ll highlight some of the best strategies and approaches you can take towards value and purpose-led management.
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1. Develop a clear mission statement
A mission statement is a formal written summary of the values, principles, and goals of an organization. It’s typically used on the website as a kind of guiding light for businesses to follow in terms of practice, principle, and vision for the future.
Developing a clear mission statement is important because it provides a solid template for management styles to draw from. It sets a standard for the culture and ethos of your brand.
Mission statements can be any word count, but it typically ranges between one and three sentences long. You can hire a brand-savvy writer to create a clear mission statement for you. Just remember to work closely with them to express your mission as accurately as possible.
2. Implement a servant leadership program
Servant leadership is leadership in service of the greater whole.
It’s an important distinction to make because many business leaders pursue higher positions for personal gain. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can create distance between them and your esteemed company values.
And if your aim as a business is to incorporate company values into the management structure, you need leaders who both understand and are passionate about them, rather than their own personal career trajectories.
Starting up a servant leadership program can help your company identify high-potential employees and educate them on the values, purposes, and goals of the company.
Once they’ve received that training, they can then go on to become leaders who automatically slot into the instilled company values and principles you have established.
3. Show and tell your values in some way every day
Talking about your company’s values and visions for the future on special occasions is great. But it’s not really enough if you want to make them an official part of your everyday culture. Finding ways to demonstrate those values in small but impactful ways every day is ideal.
For instance, if sustainability and earth-friendly actions form a big part of your business’s values, provide employees with healthy, locally sourced snacks in the office kitchen, or host fun zero-waste challenges. Think creatively about how to show your values in simple ways. If you need to spark your inspiration, those books about ethics will help you elevate your mind.
4. Provide real-life examples of company values manifested
Your company’s values should be tangible both in and out of the office. You can align company values with your business’s management style by showcasing real-life examples of how they are faring from both an organizational and performance perspective.
For instance, if your business is passionate about diversity and inclusivity, be open about sharing how you’ve worked on those values over the past few years through hard data.
Show your employees and your customers that you’re not just saying empty words—consistent, concerted effort is being applied to actualize the values you state are so important to you. You can use that data in infographics, ad campaigns, and team-building activities.
5. Reassess your company policies
Policies show you where a company’s values truly lie. Management might claim that gender equality is important to its value system, but what does its maternity leave package look like?
How seriously are sexual harassment claims taken? How are employees’ needs being met behind the scenes? These are all questions businesses should take seriously if they want the respect and loyalty of their employees—and consumers, for that matter.
Company policies need constant revision and adjustment over the years. Norms evolve and needs evolve, so make sure that your policies reflect them as time goes on.
6. Create a culture of accountability
There may be times when your management is criticized for not living up to its company values. But when that happens (which it inevitably will from time to time), it’s imperative that your management leaders hold themselves accountable for the missteps.
Employees need to see that you are not only willing to grow and learn from any blunders, but that you are also willing to face up to them and apologize when you know you could do better.
This kind of attitude is what will foster a culture of loyalty and trust within your organization, and help you move forward in a sustainable and open-minded way. Don’t underestimate how much honesty is appreciated by employees, so don’t shy away from an opportunity to grow.
7. Encourage employees to connect to company values
The more employees connect to and understand your company values, the easier it will be for them to recognize when they are being implemented by your management style.
Encourage employees to connect to company values by weaving them into team-building exercises, discussing them openly during meetings, facilitating mentorships, and providing career growth opportunities that align with the principles and purposes you promote.
8. Set KPIs based on your purpose and mission
If you’re struggling to marry company values to management practices, it may be due to a lack of structure. But that can be fixed by setting some good old-fashioned KPIs.
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are specific metrics for measuring progress over time. For instance, if you were wanting your management style to incorporate more empathic leadership, you could set an employee satisfaction KPI.
KPIs will help you measure the effectiveness and true impact of your company values. Use them to flesh out a formal plan for improving internal relations, one step at a time.
Align your management style with your company’s values and become a catalyst for success!
9. Reward and recognize employee contributions and success
Leaders should want to motivate and inspire a team to do great things. But you need to ensure that you also create a culture of gratitude that expresses thanks in the right way.
There are many ways to recognize success and reward it, and employees who contribute to maintaining the company’s values can be publicly lauded. In doing so, others will be inspired to follow suit and perform in the same positive manner.
10. Lead by example
At the end of the day, the aim of aligning your management style with your company values is to show that you mean what you say.
In a nutshell, it’s about putting your money where your mouth is rather than paying lip service.
Instead of just using empty words and blowing hot air (because, let’s be honest, this isn’t uncommon in the corporate world), you’re actively setting plans, policies, and cultural shifts in motion to achieve a better environment for everyone.
Leading by example isn’t easy, but it shows dedication, honesty, and an admirable desire to ignite real change. So, lead with confidence, and the rest will fall into place.
The Last Word About Being Purpose Driven
Tying your brand values to your management style just makes sense. It adds weight to the goals you commit to and enhances employees’ trust in your system. It can also improve consumer reception, employee retention, and employee satisfaction rates.
Alignment and consistency are important for all brands, and yours is no exception. Incorporate company values into your management system for enhanced traction, growth, and productivity.
Growth Hackers is an experienced user retention agency helping businesses from all over the world grow. There is no fluff with Growth Hackers. We help entrepreneurs and business owners align their management style with their company’s values, increase their productivity, generate qualified leads, optimize their conversion rate, gather and analyze data analytics, acquire and retain users and increase sales. We go further than brand awareness and exposure. We make sure that the strategies we implement move the needle so your business grow, strive and succeed. If you too want your business to reach new heights, contact Growth Hackers today so we can discuss about your brand and create a custom growth plan for you. You’re just one click away to skyrocket your business.
