Organisational values: should they be designed top-down or bottom-up?

Organisational values can be described as the DNA of an organisation. Whether in the private, public or the not-for-profit sector, organisational values define the ethical core, inform how decisions are made and guide everyday behaviours across teams. But designing values that truly resonate and drive culture isn’t as simple as coming up with a few aspirational words. Designing a set of organisational values is a delicate process requiring strategic thinking, deep engagement and alignment with the organisation’s purpose. Values become the foundation of any employee engagement strategy.

One of the key questions in this process is whether values should be created top-down i.e. led by the executive team or bottom-up, i.e. shaped collaboratively by employees. In my experience the answer isn’t binary. I believe that the most effective approach often blends both.

The case for top-down values design

Senior leaders are uniquely positioned to define strategic direction. They understand the business’s long-term goals, industry pressures, stakeholder expectations and legal responsibilities. This bird’s-eye view enables them to shape values that align with the organisation’s vision and operational priorities.

A top-down approach also ensures speed and clarity. Executive-led values development can deliver a clear, cohesive set of guiding principles with minimal ambiguity. This is particularly useful in high-growth or turnaround environments where pace matters.

However, values imposed solely from the top risk feeling disconnected. If they don’t reflect the reality of day-to-day operations, they can be perceived as corporate jargon—ignored or even resented by frontline employees.

The case for bottom-up values design

Values hold weight when they reflect lived experience of employees. Therefore involving employees in defining values ensures authenticity and relevance. It allows for cultural nuances, team-specific realities and emotional investment.

When employees are invited to co-create organisational values, they’re more likely to buy into them. This approach fosters a sense of ownership and shared responsibility. Bottom-up engagement might involve focus groups, pulse surveys, storytelling workshops or values discovery exercises facilitated across departments.

The potential downside of a purely bottom-up approach is misalignment. Without strategic framing, the resulting values might be too diffuse or operationally disconnected. This may make it hard to anchor the long-term strategy or the organisation's brand identity.

A hybrid approach: the best of both worlds

In my view, the most effective way to design values is a collaborative, top-guided and bottom-informed process. Here’s how I believe it can work:

1. Senior leadership sets the strategic context: Senior leaders define the purpose, direction and key non-negotiables. This sets parameters to ensure alignment with organisational objectives.
2. Engage the organisation: Use employee surveys, listening sessions and workshops to explore what matters to people across levels. Ask questions such as: What behaviours define the best of our culture? What do we want to be known for?
3. Distil and bring together: Collate common themes and language. A cross-functional project team can help translate insights into a refined set of values.
4. Validate and develop: Share drafts across the business and seek honest feedback. Ensure clarity, relatability and relevance.
5. Launch with authenticity: Communicate the values not as a top-down edict or proclamation, but as a shared framework informed by the whole organisation. Use real stories and examples to bring them to life.

What makes organisational values meaningful?

Regardless of how they’re developed, organisational values need to be:

• Authentic: Reflecting the actual behaviours and beliefs of the people in the business.
• Aspirational: Challenging the organisation to improve and grow.
• Actionable: Easy to understand and integrate into decision-making and behaviour.
• Aligned: With strategic goals, brand identity and leadership tone.

To be meaningful, values must also be inculcated throughout the organisation. They need to be included in recruitment processes, performance management reviews, training programmes, recognition systems and communication channels. Our next blog article will focus on how to embed values across an organisation.

Here a some practical examples

Since being created in 2012, at Beyond Theory we have helped numerous of companies and organisations develop and embed their values. Here are some examples, highlighting each of the approaches to creating organisational values:

Top-down dominant: A fast-scaling start-up tech company initially established values based on the founder’s vision. Over time, these were tested and later reviewed against organisational growth. The later wider input strengthened commitment to live the values across the organisation, and informed recruitment and performance management processes.

Bottom-up driven: A healthcare provider invited teams to describe the behaviours they admire in their colleagues and when organisational objectives were achieved. These focused on formalising values rooted in compassion, teamwork and emotional resilience.

Blended example: 

A public sector body conducted a series of employee engagement workshops to gain their input. The outputs from these workshop were then finalised by executive team to creeate the values that aligned with the organisation's policy, governance priorities and strategic direction.

Summary

Designing organisational values is a cultural investment. Whether your organisation is new or established, taking time to involve people, listen actively, and align values with both human and strategic insight will always yield stronger results.

So, are values better when they’re top-down or bottom-up? The best answer is: both. When strategic clarity meets cultural authenticity, values can transform from corporate slogans into living, breathing standards that inspire, guide and unite an organisation. Employee engagement grows which improves productivity and improves customer service levels.

But it is important to acknowledge that designing values is only the first step. Living the values day-to-day is where the real work begins.

Paul Beesley

Director and senior consultant, Beyond Theory

28 July 2025

Related blog articles:

Use storytelling to make your presentations even more engaging

Creating an employee engagement strategy and making it work

The only way is ethics