How to Define a Shared Purpose and Core Values

The first skill to drive a We Culture is learning to define and communicate a shared purpose and core values. People want to have a sense of purpose. Having a purpose means that you’re pursuing a larger mission or ideal than you as an individual; it could be for a company, community, or individual. Some people think of this as their legacy.

(This post was adapted from Luciana Paulise’s book “We Culture”).

It is even more relevant during a crisis when everything can feel out of control. It is the glue that helps bridge the gaps of miscommunication and lack of connection and serves as a guiding light. Finding purpose helps put events in perspective and refocus energy on the action. Every team member needs to understand the why behind their job, how it could change, and how it is still relevant.

“The purpose is the glue that helps bridge the gaps of miscommunication and lack of connection and serves as a guiding light. It helps put events in perspective and refocus energy on the action.” Luciana Paulise

While there’s nothing wrong with posting the values, purpose or mission on a wall, that’s not enough. Organizations have been writing and re-writing their mission and vision statements for decades. Unfortunately, they are just empty statements usually. Sometimes they are shared with the employees only during the onboarding training or hung on the manager’s wall. Researchers have shown that also the purpose is essential to guide a company. It has become a foundational element of the company culture, the reason for the team members to stay engaged. Teams need to know what needs to be done, but also they need to understand why. That is the purpose—why we do it, our aim. According to Edwards Deming, every system, team or company “is a network of interdependent components that work together to accomplish an aim. Without an aim, there is no system” [1] according to Edwards Deming.

“Every system, team or company is a network of interdependent components that work together to accomplish an aim. Without an aim, there is no system” Edwards Deming

Now, agreeing on the purpose is still not enough. It has to be internalized and practiced every day. Once the team organization has defined the why, it is essential to determine the how. The how is made of rules or values that help people understand the purpose, how they need to work every day and guide them in decision making.

Rules are beneficial when companies grow too fast. They must be an essential part of the hiring interview and the onboarding training to help align employees and guide them through the entire employee experience, including every meeting and project.

Next steps:

1)     Define then the vision of the company, which is an ambitious image of where you want to be in twenty years, and then think about why you want to be there: the purpose. Involve team members in the purpose definition. The purpose will help your team help you; hence, the owner, the executive team, or the employees can define it. Delegating to HR is less time-consuming, but it is not as effective in long-term engagement as facilitating a discussion with the entire company.

2)     Define the values or “commandments”, also involving your team members. The sweet spot is between 5 and 12, no more than that, to guide the expected behaviors and help employees make decisions daily and make it easy to remember. Offer three sample behaviors for the value.

3)     Ensure alignment with the 7R’s: the purpose or reason and the rules are the first Rs that will guide you in the long term. Then, to bring alignment across teams in the short and mid-term, you must define five more: routines, roles and responsibilities, rewards, risk-taking approach and reinforcement method. Discuss these in your specific team and stick to them!

Help your team make a mind shift from Me-centric thinking to We-centric thinking and become a We Culture champion!

I invite you to visit to learn more at www.theweculture.com, where you can find the We Culture book, download the We Culture app and explore other tools such as self-assessments, book Coaching sessions and access online training on-demand. Take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reinvent how you work, and enjoy it!

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