Recently I invited a group of carefully chosen people to the first gathering of something new: Culture Club.
It was an experiment without agenda, built on a shared curiosity about what happens when you bring together people who live and lead through values.
Around the (virtual) table were people from football, finance, healthcare, marketing, academia and technology. Different sectors united by the fact that each of them had shown a deeper-than-average interest in culture as something they actively use to lead.
The conversation was generous, honest and far-reaching. By the end, it was clear this wasn’t a one-off …
Themes
Several clear themes were threaded through people’s stories, challenges and reflections.
Values aren’t optional. They are the navigational tools that help leaders make decisions when things get tough. This wasn’t about virtue signalling, but about resilience and results.
Values take courage. You cannot lead through values without also being prepared to have hard conversations, make unpopular decisions or shift direction when integrity demands it.
Culture is never finished. Organisations shift. People evolve. Contexts change. Values must be constantly re-embedded.
External perception matters. Culture is not just an internal feeling. It is how your team treats a supplier, how a parent describes their experience of your programme, or why someone chooses to join your organisation over another. Culture is your brand, lived.
Language holds power. Words like ‘kindness’ or ‘freedom’ don’t land the same way for everyone. We heard examples where well-intentioned language sparked concern or discomfort – not because the values weren’t right, but because interpretation hadn’t been fully explored.
Grit
What made the session sing was the subtle differences.
Some leaders spoke about supporting people to leave when values no longer aligned. Others described decisive action, making the call early for the sake of cultural clarity. Each reflected on the emotional cost of delay.
One story stood out: in a previous leadership role, someone shared that their team had adopted a value about enabling success. It was well received – until someone asked, “Does this mean I’m allowed to fail?” The question wasn’t rebellious: it revealed just how important it is to consider the full implication of any value.
Another insight came from the healthcare sector. A value intended to reflect stewardship and care for time and resources was initially met with unease. With further conversation, the value was clarified and embraced, but it served as a powerful reminder. Language isn’t neutral, especially in emotionally complex settings.
Some leaders described building their team’s autonomy and watching them flourish. Others found that the shift towards shared accountability created uncertainty. For some, it felt liberating. For others, destabilising.
These apparent contradictions showed the difference between a values statement and a values system. One is written. The other is lived, challenged, and matured through experience.
Takeaways
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Clarity is kindness. If someone isn’t aligned, helping them move on can be the most respectful choice for everyone.
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Values must be embodied. A leader can’t ask others to live the values if they aren’t willing to be held to them too.
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Real values divide. Good values attract the right people and allow others to self-select out. That’s not failure. That’s function.
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Culture lives in moments. It’s not in posters or presentations, but in how someone leaves the field, responds to a challenge, or welcomes a colleague on a difficult day.
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Your culture is your brand. And the most powerful proof isn’t what you say, it’s how people talk about you when you’re not in the room, sign onto a customer waiting list or wait for a role to open up just to be part of it.
What’s Next
Culture Club will meet again. The next session will bring together a fresh mix of leaders, with new insights, stories and dilemmas, and welcome back some faces from this pilot session.
If you’re leading through values – or want to – and would like to be part of a future get together, contact me here.
No pitch. No performance. Just purpose-led people having the conversations that matter.