We Can’t Live Company Values If We Don’t Know Our Own

Somewhere along the line, we started talking about “company values” like they were separate from the people inside the company.

They became posters on the wall. Induction slides. Leadership dot points. Sales tools. They became performance metrics. Marketing language. Sometimes even empty promises.

But here’s the truth:
You cannot expect people to live company values if they’re not clear on their own.

If an individual hasn’t had the space, safety, or permission to ask themselves what truly matters to them — what they stand for, what they’ll walk away from, what they’re quietly craving — then asking them to uphold a set of externally defined “company values” becomes just another performance.

And performance is not what builds trust. Alignment does.

This is the core of The Affection Economy, a way of working, leading, and being that begins with returning to yourself. It’s not soft. It’s not romantic. It’s not abstract. It’s brave.

A human-centred company begins with human-centred people.

This is the bit we miss.
We pour money into brand strategy. Employer value propositions. Change programs. Leadership off-sites. Culture decks.

But if the people inside your organisation haven’t explored their own values first, then your company values are just aspirational words. No matter how beautiful your poster is.

When people are supported to clarify their own values, and given space to live by them, something remarkable happens.
They start spotting misalignment before it festers.
They stop outsourcing their integrity to hierarchy.
They start moving from performance to purpose.

That’s when culture becomes real.

So what do we do?

We pause. We listen.
We give people tools to define, refine, and live their own values, not just yours.

That might look like mentoring. Group coaching. Leadership development.
But it might also look like creating micro-moments of trust: conversations where values are named, reflected back, and welcomed.

In The Affection Economy book, I share 30 values and their activations, for individuals, communities, and organisations. But we don’t start with the organisation. We start with you.

We start with the question: What do you truly value?
And… Are you living it, or just naming it?

Because we can’t build a values-led company on shaky foundations.
And we can’t build brave leadership on borrowed language.

Let’s Start Here

If this resonates, I invite you to reflect on your own values this week.
Not the ones in your workplace posters — your real ones.
Are you living them?

If not, I’d love to help.
I offer mentoring, leadership coaching, and team workshops that return us to what matters.

→ Reach out here or DM me on LinkedIn.
→ Explore working with Jet
→ Book a free Clarity Call

Let’s bring your values to life.

Jx

Author’s Note:

This piece was originally published here on The Story Maker. It is available for republication, syndication, or editorial adaptation.

For commissions or licensing, please contact Jet Swain.