Any Value. All Values.
This past week, I was speaking with someone whose organization is in the middle of a values development exercise. She walked me through the process they were going through, the discussions they were having, and the effort to define what truly matters to the organization.
At one point, the conversation turned practical. Which values, she asked, are most likely to drive innovation? And then, almost as a follow-up, would it make sense to simply add innovation itself to the list?
I gave her a direct answer. Any value, and all values, can drive innovation. What matters is not which values an organization selects. What matters is whether those values are lived.
It was not the answer she expected. And like many conversations of this kind, we moved on. But the question stayed with me, because it points to something organizations often misunderstand.
What Authentic Values Actually Do
Every individual enters an organization with a personal value system already in place. When those individual values align with, or at least complement, the organization’s stated values, there is potential for something meaningful to emerge. But that potential only materializes when those values are real in practice.
When people observe that values are not confined to posters, presentations, or carefully scripted townhalls, but instead actively shape decisions, behaviours, and consequences, a shift occurs. Trust begins to form. With that trust comes a willingness to contribute more fully, to take risks, to question assumptions, and to engage in open disagreement without fear.
This is the environment in which innovation takes root.
Research on psychological safety reinforces this dynamic. Teams that feel safe to take interpersonal risks, to speak candidly, and to experiment without fear of blame consistently outperform those that do not. The source of that safety is not a specific value label. It is the repeated experience of seeing leaders act in accordance with their stated values, particularly when doing so carries a cost.
Integrity creates that environment. So does curiosity. So does accountability. So does generosity. The specific value matters far less than the consistency with which it is demonstrated.
Why This Distinction Matters
Many organizations approach innovation as something to be installed. A program to launch. A capability to build. Or a value to append to an already crowded list.
But innovation does not operate that way.
It is not implemented. It emerges.
It emerges when individuals feel genuinely free to think differently, to contribute ideas without hesitation, and to take calculated risks without disproportionate consequences. That freedom is rooted in trust. And trust is built when people see, repeatedly and unambiguously, that the organization means what it says.
The implication is straightforward, but often overlooked.
You do not need new values to unlock innovation. You need to live the ones you already have.