Walk into almost any organization and you’ll see bold words mounted on the walls: Integrity. Respect. Collaboration. Accountability. They’re inspiring to look at—but living them out is another story.
I’ve seen this disconnect for years. Back in the early 2000s, companies loved hanging glossy “Successories” posters in boardrooms—soaring eagles with the word Courage, or a rowing team under the banner Teamwork. The problem? For many employees, those posters weren’t motivational. They were a joke. Over and over, I’d hear: “The words on our walls don’t match the walk in our halls.”
The truth is, many leaders misunderstand corporate values—what they are, how they work, and how to structure them, and that confusion undermines culture. There are two very different types of values, and understanding the difference is essential.
1: Absolute Values
These are the basics—things like honesty, kindness, or integrity. Their opposites are unacceptable: dishonesty, cruelty, corruption. Author Patrick Lencioni refers to these “permission to play” values. They’re minimum standards of employment. If you don’t uphold them, you don’t get to work here.
Absolute values matter—but they don’t set your culture apart. They’re not differentiators; they’re expectations.
2: Interdependent Values
These values only work in pairs. Alone, they create problems. Together, they create strength. Think of breathing: inhaling is good, exhaling is good—but neglect one and you’re in trouble. Or consider activity and rest: each is valuable, but too much of one and not enough of the other leads to burnout or stagnation.
At work, the same dynamic is true:
- Focusing on People AND Results
- Respecting Rules AND Taking Risk
- Fostering Challenge AND Encouragement
Winning cultures aren’t built on choosing one side. They’re built on holding both together.
The Leadership Shift
The real opportunity for leaders is to build culture around interdependent values—and to embrace them as ongoing tensions to manage, not problems to solve.
When you do this, culture stops being a poster on the wall. It becomes something employees actually experience every day.
And that’s the secret ingredient of a winning culture.
