Your core values statement is performative (and your team knows it)

Hello again,

Last week, I facilitated a strategy meeting with a client who said something that I’m now hearing on a regular basis:

"We have meaningful values on our website…but they don’t seem to mean anything in practice and I think everyone on the team feels it. What do you think?"

My reply, gentle yet blunt: “Yes, I think you’re right. How can I help?”

If you're leading a mission-driven organisation, you may have a version of this story too Values that look meaningful on paper but feel hollow in practice. Team members who joined for the mission but are becoming frustrated by their working reality.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: Most organisations are accidentally performing their values instead of living them. And your team can tell the difference.

The Problem: Values Fatigue is Real

We've worked with mission-driven organisations in the US, UK and Europe, and we see the same pattern everywhere:

The Symptoms:

• Eye rolls when leadership mentions "our values".

• Policies (and practices) that contradict commitments to equity and equality.

• High turnover among your most values-aligned staff.

• Decision-making that reverts to old patterns under pressure.

• Team members saying "we don't practice what we preach" (often without you knowing).

The Hidden Cost: It's not just about culture. Research shows that misaligned workplace cultures create measurable business costs: replacing a single manager costs 200% of their salary (Gallup), while well-aligned cultures improve productivity by up to 25% (LSA Global). Meanwhile, 42% of employee turnover is preventable - often stemming from values misalignment and cultural friction.

Your mission suffers. Your people suffer. Your impact suffers.

But here's what we've learned: It's not your fault. You just haven't been given the tools to translate values into systems.

The Real Problem: Values Without Systems

Most organisations approach values like this:

1. Craft beautiful values statements ✅

2. Put them on the website ✅

3. Mention them in meetings ✅

4. Wonder why nothing changes ❌

The missing piece? Values aren't statements. They're built into systems.

Your values need to drive:

• How you make decisions (not just what you decide)

• How you handle conflict (not just how you avoid it)

• How you distribute power (not just how you talk about equity)

• How you design policies (not just how you write mission statements)

• How you measure impact (not just how you report success)

Case Study: From Performance to Practice

[Organisation name omitted for confidentiality]

The Challenge: This NGO had "collaboration" as a core value but operated with top-down decision-making that left most of the team feeling powerless and unheard. And their value of “anti-oppression” was undermined by a hierarchical structure with too many levels for such a small team.

The Transformation: Through our work, they:

• Implemented clear decision-making frameworks to include all relevant voices across the team in key decisions.

• Flattened their organisational structure while maintaining clear lines of responsibility for impact.

• Created "values violation" repair processes, and used them.

• Shifted from compliance-based to values-based policy reviews

The Results:

• No team exits for a period of 12 months after multiple exits previously within a space of 6 months (and more in the 18 months before that).

• Team (via anonymous feedback) reported 78% higher alignment between stated and lived values; with greater ‘happiness’ and confidence in their ability to deliver upon their mission also noted.

"We went from performing our values to living them. Our team feels it. Our partners feel it. Our funders feel it." - Founder

The Solution: Living Your Values Learning Journey

Based upon our consulting work over the past 3 years, we’ve developed a learning journey for organisations experiencing similar struggles.

Over 6 months, we support your entire team to:

Month 1: Grounding In Your Values Stop treating values as marketing copy. Start treating them as an operating system.

Month 2: Self As A System Of Change Individual transformation that creates collective impact.

Month 3: Brave Conversations & Repair Turn conflict into connection. Turn mistakes into growth.

Month 4: Values-Aligned Systems, Processes & Policies Audit everything through your values lens. Change what doesn't align.

Month 5: Belonging, Liberation & Accountability Create psychological safety AND accountability culture.

Month 6: Integration, Celebration & Continuity Make values-led leadership your new normal.

Is This Right for Your Team?

This learning journey is perfect for you if:

✅ You're tired of the values-reality gap and ready for greater alignment.

✅ Your leadership team is committed to examining and changing systems, not just tweaking policies.

✅ You want sustainable culture change, not quick fixes.

✅ You're willing to invest 6 months in transformation that will impact your organisation for years.

✅ You understand that values work is justice work - it's about examining power, not just performance.

If you're ready to stop performing your values and start living them, here's how we begin:

Step 1: Free Values Alignment Consultation We'll spend 45 minutes diagnosing your current values-reality gap and exploring whether this journey is right for your organisation.

Step 2: Leadership Alignment Session Your leadership team gets clarity on what this transformation actually involves and commits to the process together.

Step 3: Your Journey Begins We start with your entire team, creating shared understanding and collective commitment to change.

At the start of September, we will be increasing the investment for this learning journey significantly. If you’d like to benefit from the current fees, we have space for 2 more organisations to sign up if booked by 25th August.

Book Your Free Consultation

Ready to transform your organisation from the inside out?

Book Free 45-Minute Consultation ← This link changes everything

Or reply to this email with "READY" and we'll send you the booking link directly.

The Cost of Inaction

Every month you delay addressing your values-reality gap:

• You lose values-aligned staff to organisations that walk their talk

• You miss funding opportunities (funders can spot authentic values alignment - and we’re about to launch something to help them if they can’t!)

• You perpetuate systems that contradict your mission

• You experience the slow burn of organisational misalignment

The question isn't whether you can afford to invest in values alignment.

The question is: Can you afford not to?

Your mission depends on it. Your team deserves it. Your impact requires it.

Book Your Free Consultation Today.

In solidarity,

Lea,

Founder, Mission Equality

P.P.S. Know another NGO leader struggling with values-reality gap? Please do forward this email.