As we step into 2025, many of us start the year with personal resolutions. It’s an opportunity to reflect, refocus, and make decisions about our individual paths forward. But have you considered applying the same principle to your organisation? Just as individuals benefit from setting goals and making adjustments, so too do businesses.
What are the objectives for your organisation or team this year? How will you ensure your people are aligned and empowered to achieve them? Alignment starts with revisiting the foundation: your vision and values.
Vision and Values Go Hand in Hand
Your company’s vision is your compass - an aspirational statement that defines why your organisation exists and what it aims to achieve. It inspires purpose and provides a clear anchor for employee’s work. Sitting alongside the vision are your organisation’s values, the core principles that shape its identity and guide how employees interact with each other and with external stakeholders. Together, vision and values form the foundations of organisational culture and strategic direction.
Given the landscape, now is the perfect time to assess whether your organisation’s vision and values remain relevant for 2025 and beyond, especially as the rate of change in the last five years has been significant. Geopolitical changes are shifting global markets, workplaces and society have responded to a worldwide pandemic, a new generation of workers has joined the workforce, employee well-being has taken on heightened importance, flexible working is now commonplace, and diversity, equity and inclusion now challenge and mould organisations in new ways. Naturally your customers, clients, suppliers and stakeholders are all likely to have changed the way they do business too.
The question is, does your existing vision and your values reflect the realities of your business and the aspirations of your team today? Will they continue to guide your organisation effectively in the years to come?
By updating your vision and values you can ensure your organisation stays tuned to changing market conditions, meets employee expectations of purpose-driven work, and provides a shared language and standards of behaviour, which in turn helps build stronger connections and a culture of accountability across the team.
The Power of Well-Defined Values
Values are most effective when they are actionable and specific. Generic words like “respect” or “integrity” are helpful but can fall flat without concrete definitions and behavioural expectations. For instance, a value like “Real” might embody authenticity, transparency, and groundedness. By defining what this means in your organisational context, you:
Create a cultural framework for hiring and talent retention
Provide a benchmark for addressing performance or behavioural issues
Establish a shared understanding of what success looks like within your team
Strong, relevant values drive performance and strengthen organisational culture, offering a practical guide for decision-making and collaboration.
Amplifying Vision and Values Externally
Once you’ve refined your vision and values, ensure they’re clearly communicated. Share them with your team to strengthen internal alignment and embed them into your branding to attract like-minded clients and partners. Highlighting your values on the careers page will help them resonate with prospective employees who seek purpose-driven organisations. This approach can be especially appealing to younger generations who prioritise values alignment in their career choices.
Vision and Values: More Than “Fluff”
Some may view vision and values as abstract or “fluffy,” but nothing could be further from the truth. When aligned with strategy, they become powerful tools that inspire behaviours, guide decisions, and drive business outcomes. By revisiting and refining these foundational elements with a strategic lens, you position your organisation to thrive in an ever-changing world.
Take the new year as an opportunity to review and realign your organisation’s vision and values with its goals and purpose. Not only will it set the stage for success, but it will also create a stronger, more cohesive team ready to tackle the challenges ahead. Need some help? We’d love to partner with you to create a powerful business tool for this year and beyond.