What happens when a culture-first organisation like ours drops the ball on its own values? Or worse, as a culture-focused leader, drops the ball?

…it is so easy to get preoccupied with work…

As a branding agency specialising in culture, impact, and storytelling, we pride ourselves on being a values-led organisation. However, even we have experienced moments where our practices didn’t align with our core values, especially as our team evolved and new members joined.

Recently, we realised we weren’t living and breathing our values as we should. This prompted us to revisit and strengthen our commitment, starting with one of our foundational values: Big Love, Like Family.

Understanding Our Value: Big Love, Like Family

Our tribe is our family. It encompasses our team, clients, and the greater community. We are dedicated to the success of our tribe, both collectively and individually.

This value is about more than just words; it’s about actions and behaviours that demonstrate our commitment to each other’s well-being and growth.

While this is how we’ve defined it on our website, what does this mean now at its best, and what can we do to strengthen it?

Defining the Value at Its Best

During a recent team meeting, we asked ourselves what this value looks like at its best. Here are some of the key themes that emerged:

• Accountability and Teamwork: Each of us takes responsibility for our roles while supporting our teammates.
• Emotional and Mental Check-ins: Regularly checking in on each other’s well-being shows we care.
• Mutual Respect and Open Communication: Fostering an environment where everyone feels respected and heard.
• Safe Spaces for Sharing: Creating environments where ideas and feelings can be shared without judgement.

Actions to Strengthen This Value

To ensure we embody this value, we identified actions at different levels:

• Personal Level: We commit to being open, actively listening, and showing care in our daily interactions.
• Group Level: We will regularly share our thoughts, celebrate each other’s achievements, and support one another.
• Management Level: Our leadership will facilitate more values sessions, emotional intelligence workshops, and create spaces for personal conversations.

Lessons Learned

This exercise was both overwhelming and enlightening. It showed us that even organisations focused on culture can slip if they don’t actively nurture their values. For diverse and remote teams like ours, defining what our values mean in practice is crucial.

Our Ongoing Commitment

We’re dedicated to strengthening our value of Big Love, Like Family through the following actions:

• Conducting more connection sessions to build personal relationships within the team.
• Regular mental and emotional check-in sessions.
• Utilizing internal channels to express and support each other.
• Encouraging personal conversations that go beyond work topics.

How Do You Show Up for Your Team?

We believe that sharing our journey can inspire others. How do you show up for your team? What actions do you take to live your values every day?

Let’s share our experiences and grow together, ensuring that our values aren’t just words, but a lived reality.