When Company Values Are Just Words: Rebuilding Trust Between What We Say and What We Do

If you've ever worked in an organization with bold values printed on the walls but little trace of them in meetings, conversations, or decisions, you're not alone. Many organizations fall into the trap of a performative culture, where what is espoused is polished and strategic, but what is enacted is inconsistent, conditional, or absent. This isn't just a branding issue. It's a trust issue, and one that employees feel deeply.

This article examines eight common ways the gap between values and practice manifests in organizations—and how leaders can start to bridge it with honesty, effective systems, and consistency.

1. From Inspiration to Ornament: The Decorative Value Trap

It’s easy to declare values. But when those values are treated as slogans rather than standards, they risk becoming corporate wallpaper—visibly everywhere but functionally nowhere. Employees understand the distinction between aspirational language and operational reality. When values like “integrity” or “respect” are never referenced in decision-making, performance reviews, or day-to-day conversations, they become hollow symbols rather than cultural anchors.

To shift from performance to substance, values must become embedded in the organization’s smallest habits and rituals. This means using them to frame interview questions, structure one-on-one meetings, and guide feedback.

As Lencioni (2002) argued, organizations must distinguish between “core values” and “permission-to-play” values. If a value isn’t actively influencing behavior -or if no one can recall a moment it was used to guide action - it likely doesn’t belong.

2. We Say “Teamwork” But Promote the Loudest Voice

One of the most evident signs of a misaligned culture is when promotions and recognition don’t reflect the values the organization claims to uphold. Suppose a company claims to value collaboration but consistently rewards individualism, competition, or “heroic” efforts that exclude others. In that case, employees quickly receive the real message: output matters more than the process by which it is achieved.

Adam Grant (2013) emphasized the importance of recognizing "givers" in the workplace—those who elevate others and prioritize team success. These employees often go unnoticed in performance evaluations biased toward visibility over value.

To course-correct, organizations must redesign their promotion criteria to reflect team-first contributions and quiet consistency, not just charisma or visibility. This also includes training managers to recognize the influence of proximity bias and vocal dominance in performance reviews.

Culture is most visible in who gets promoted. If your heroes don’t live by the values, your teams won’t either.

3. Culture Fails When Leaders Are Above the Rules

Few things demoralize a team faster than watching a leader violate company values without consequence. Whether it’s a senior executive behaving disrespectfully or a manager consistently undermining collaboration, the message is clear: values are flexible for some, and accountability is selective. Even if these actions are rationalized internally, employees interpret silence as complicity.

Detert and Edmondson (2011) found that many employees develop what they call “implicit voice theories”—internalized beliefs that it is unsafe or futile to speak up. Especially in hierarchical structures, the absence of a clear, enforced standard for leadership behavior reinforces this belief.

To reverse the damage, organizations must normalize upward feedback, codify non-negotiable behaviors for leaders, and take visible action when those standards are breached. Only when accountability reaches the top can values be seen as credible.

4. Under Pressure, Culture Collapses

Many organizations have strong values—until adversity strikes. Under deadlines, budget crises, or public scrutiny, it’s tempting to revert to old habits and compromise on principles. Integrity, empathy, and inclusion are often the first casualties of the process. This sends a powerful message: values are optional when urgency strikes.

But the actual test of a culture isn’t how it performs on a good day, it’s how it holds up under pressure.

Kegan and Lahey (2016) argue that “deliberately developmental organizations” prepare for this by helping teams define what their values look like in challenging moments. Do we pause when we’re tempted to cut corners? Do we coach through conflict rather than escalating it?

Celebrating stories of values upheld in stressful times not only builds moral resilience but shapes a deeper, more trusted culture.

5. Onboarding Promises vs. Reality: The First Broken Contract

Recruitment and onboarding are often filled with cultural storytelling, including vision statements, values decks, and leadership videos that outline “who we are.” But when a new hire enters and sees none of those values in practice, it creates disillusionment. The damage is quiet but real. That early betrayal of expectations can create long-lasting disengagement.

Cable, Gino, and Staats (2013) found that authenticity in onboarding has a lasting effect on employee engagement and performance. The key isn’t to present a perfect culture—it’s to be honest about the one you have.

Bring real team voices into onboarding, share your challenges as well as your aspirations, and gather feedback after the first 30–60 days. A culture that owns its gaps earns far more trust than one that hides them.

6. The Illusion of Awareness: When Values Are “Known” But Not Felt

Engagement surveys often report high awareness of organizational values. But awareness does not equal alignment. Employees may be able to list values verbatim and still struggle to describe how those values influence decisions or shape team dynamics. This is the difference between intellectual understanding and emotional connection.

Brené Brown (2018) emphasizes that values only matter when they’re operationalized—when people can articulate what behaviors align with them and how they manifest in everyday actions. One way to bridge this is through storytelling and ritual.

Ask for lived examples during retrospectives. Build team ceremonies around value alignment. Use authentic experiences—not ratings—as the foundation for cultural measurement.

7. The Illusion of Belonging: When Inclusion Stops at Optics

Organizations are increasingly investing in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives; however, the focus often remains on who is being hired, rather than who is thriving. If the people most visible at the top all share the same background, communication style, or worldview, then the message of belonging loses its effectiveness. Representation is a start. Equity is the goal.

Thomas and Ely (1996) argue for a shift from diversity-as-inclusion to diversity-as-learning, where difference is not just accepted but seen as a source of insight and learning. This involves tracking promotion equity, analyzing access to stretch opportunities, and incorporating diverse voices into policy design. Culture can’t be inclusive if only certain people are shaping it.

8. Protecting Performance While Ignoring Harm

Perhaps the most damaging cultural contradiction is when high-performing but toxic individuals are protected because of their results. These employees often generate short-term wins but long-term dysfunction. When behavior is excused in the name of output, values lose all credibility. The team learns quickly: results matter more than respect.

Robert Sutton’s (2007) research on “the no asshole rule” demonstrates the high cost of toxic talent even one disruptive individual can drag down collective performance and morale. The solution redefines performance to encompass both what someone achieves and how they accomplish it.

Leaders must be willing to have hard conversations, close protection loopholes, and act decisively, even if it means letting go of a high-performing individual who is damaging the culture.

Culture Is Not What You Say. It’s What You Sustain.

Organizational culture is not built through branding or values decks. It’s built through everyday actions, such as who gets promoted, who’s held accountable, how decisions are made under stress, and whether people feel safe speaking up. When there's a gap between words and actions, employees stop believing. And when belief disappears, so does loyalty.

But rebuilding trust is possible. It starts with honesty: about the culture you have, the one you want, and the daily work it takes to close the gap. The most respected companies aren’t those with perfect cultures, but those with consistent ones, where values aren’t just spoken but sustained.

References

• Brown, B. (2018). Dare to lead: Brave work. Tough conversations. Whole hearts. Random House.

• Cable, D. M., Gino, F., & Staats, B. R. (2013). Breaking them in or revealing their best? Reframing socialization around newcomer self-expression. Administrative Science Quarterly, 58(1), 1–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839213477098

• Detert, J. R., & Edmondson, A. C. (2011). Implicit voice theories: Taken-for-granted rules of self-censorship at work. Academy of Management Journal, 54(3), 461–488.

• Edmondson, A. C. (2019). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. Wiley.

• Grant, A. M. (2013). Give and take: A revolutionary approach to success. Viking.

• Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2016). An everyone culture: Becoming a deliberately developmental organization. Harvard Business Review Press.

• Lencioni, P. (2002). The five dysfunctions of a team: A leadership fable. Jossey-Bass.

• Sutton, R. I. (2007). The no asshole rule: Building a civilized workplace and surviving one that isn’t. Business Plus.

• Thomas, D. A., & Ely, R. J. (1996). Making differences matter: A new paradigm for managing diversity. Harvard Business Review, 74(5), 79–90.