Culture Is Built in Behaviour: Why Reading (and Living) Company Values Matters

Every company, at some point in its journey, pauses to reflect on what it truly stands for. It may have started with a dream, a few passionate people, and a handful of customers, but as it grows, it realizes that success cannot rely only on strategy, speed, or innovation. What sustains growth and unites people across levels, locations, and timelines are values, those guiding principles that define “how” we work, not just “what” we do.

Some companies articulate three crisp values. Others list ten or thirteen, each word crafted with intent and care. HR and leadership teams spend hours, sometimes months, curating these, gathering stories, listening to employees, and framing words that reflect both aspiration and identity. These values are meant to be more than posters on walls or slogans on intranet pages; they are supposed to be the lighthouse, a steady beam guiding how decisions are made, how teams behave, and how individuals thrive.

Yet, in most workplaces, something curious happens.

When new hires join, they often skip past the page on company values during onboarding. Perhaps they see them as generic, “Integrity, Collaboration, Innovation, Respect” , words they’ve heard before. So they carry forward their old ways of working, shaped by previous jobs, personal preferences, or survival instincts. Weeks later, they find themselves struggling, misunderstood, frustrated, or feeling like a “culture misfit.”

So, here’s the real question: What if the key to thriving in your new workplace lies in how deeply you understand and align with its values?

1. Understanding What Values Really Mean

Values are not just decorative statements. They are behavioural expectations, the unwritten code that explains what is rewarded, what is discouraged, and what gets silently noticed.

For example, when a company says, “Customer Obsession,” it doesn’t just mean “serve the client.” It means anticipate needs, go the extra mile, own the outcome. When it says “Transparency,” it implies sharing early, not perfectly, and communicating honestly even when uncomfortable.

• Reading values as wordswill give you vocabulary.
• Reading them as behaviourswill give you direction.

So the first step is to go beyond the list , ask:

• What does this value look like in everyday work?
• How do people who live this value behave?
• How do decisions reflect it?
• What stories from the company demonstrate it?

If you’re unsure, ask your manager or peers for examples. Observe how leaders act in meetings or how teams handle conflicts, that’s where true values show up.

2. Calibrating Your Own Working Style

Every professional carries their own operating system, a set of habits, instincts, and attitudes built from past workplaces or personal experiences. When you join a new company, you need to recalibrate that system.

Think of it as tuning a musical instrument before joining a new band. You may be brilliant, but unless you’re in harmony with the rest, the music won’t sound right.

For instance:

• If your previous company prized speed over consensus, but your new one values collaboration, you might need to slow down, involve others, and learn patience.
• If you come from a top-down culture and now join a flat, feedback-driven one, you may need to unlearn hierarchy and speak up with ownership.
• If you were used to individual wins, but your new place celebrates team success, shift your focus from “I did this” to “We achieved this.”

Calibrating doesn’t mean losing your authenticity. It means adapting intelligently, aligning how you express your strengths in ways that fit the ecosystem you’re part of.

3. Making Values Part of Your Vocabulary

One of the simplest yet most powerful ways to embody values is to speak their language.

Use them in your conversations not artificially, but contextually.

• “I’d like to take ownership of this that aligns with our value of accountability.”
• “Let’s brainstorm together that’s how we live our collaboration value.”
• “We may miss this deadline if we don’t act fast and agility is key for us.”

When you use values in your communication, two things happen:

1. You remind yourself of what the organization expects.
2. You reinforce the culture for those around you.

Over time, this vocabulary becomes part of your professional identity. You’re not just someone who “knows” the values you’re someone who lives them.

4. Modeling and Raising the Bar

Once you start practicing values consistently, something shifts. People notice. Teammates start trusting your judgment. Leaders see reliability. You quietly become a culture carrier.

In any organization, culture isn’t created in the boardroom, it’s created in everyday choices:

• How you give feedback.
• How you respond to setbacks.
• How you handle credit and conflict.

When you choose behaviours aligned with values, you set an example without needing authority. And if you’re in a leadership role, whether you manage one person or a hundred, you have the added responsibility to raise the bar.

That means:

• Calling out when behaviours deviate from values.
• Appreciating when someone demonstrates them.
• Making them part of performance discussions.

Because culture isn’t built by HR. It’s built by people who care enough to uphold it.

5. The Other Option , Ignoring Values

Of course, you can choose to ignore all this. You can roll your eyes at “corporate jargon,” work your way as you always have, and complain when others don’t “get” you.

But that path often leads to quiet frustration. You become the outlier, not because of lack of skill, but because of misalignment. Organizations rarely struggle with “bad talent.” They struggle with culture misfits, talented individuals who refuse to adapt.

Values are not about conformity. They are about shared purpose. You can be unique, creative, bold, and still operate within the framework that binds everyone. When you don’t, you create dissonance, for yourself and for your team.

6. Why Values Matter to Your Career

Being aligned with company values doesn’t just make you a good employee; it makes you a great professional.

Why? Because values are transferable skills. Once you master behaviours like accountability, empathy, and learning agility, they serve you across roles, industries, and even in life.

In fact, much of the “soft feedback” professionals receive, “be more proactive,” “communicate better,” “collaborate more,” “show ownership”, are all value-linked behaviours. They are the invisible threads that differentiate high performers from the rest.

When promotion or leadership discussions happen, competence is assumed. What tips the scale is how well you live the values, how you influence culture, embody trust, and lead by example.

7. Making It a Habit

To truly internalize values, treat them like habits, not events.

• Reflect on one value each week and how you practiced it.
• Observe others who model it well.
• Ask for feedback: “Do you think I’m demonstrating our value of ownership enough?”
• Revisit your goals, how do they link back to what the company stands for?

Soon, values stop being corporate words and start becoming your personal compass, guiding your choices, your behaviour, and even your growth.

Final Reflection

Values are not meant to be memorized. They are meant to be lived.

If you’re joining a new company, take time to read its values deeply. Understand the stories behind them. Translate them into your daily actions. Bring them alive in your interactions, decisions, and leadership.

Because the truth is simple, every organization already has a culture; the question is whether you are adding to it or eroding it.

And the professionals who learn to align with values, not just tasks, are the ones who don’t just fit in, they shine.