Living Your Values: The Key to Unlocking Organisational Growth
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We often think of organisational values as something you stick on a wall and revisit once a year during strategy days. But values aren’t just a branding exercise—they’re the bedrock of your culture. And when it comes to learning and development, they’re one of the most powerful tools you can have for engaging your people and achieving organisation strategy.
Research continues to show that organisations with strong, clearly articulated values—and cultures that reflect them—perform better. If it seems too easy, this Deloitte report backs up the facts on organisational culture, stating that values-aligned companies are more likely to retain talent, foster engagement, and achieve better business outcomes.
A values-led culture is a learning culture
A strong learning culture doesn’t just emerge from good intentions or slick platforms. It grows from values that are deeply understood and actively lived. Values like curiosity, collaboration, accountability, and inclusion lay the groundwork for psychological safety—the belief that people can speak up, take risks, and be themselves without fear of judgment.
Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson has shown that psychological safety is essential for team learning and innovation. When people feel safe, they’re more likely to ask questions, admit mistakes, and share ideas. In other words: they learn.
If your values promote learning, growth, and openness, your people will follow suit. And when learning becomes part of the cultural DNA, organisations become more agile, resilient, and ready to tackle change.
Microlearning: Bringing values to life, one moment at a time
This space is where microlearning really shines. One of the biggest challenges for any business is turning big ideas—like values—into day-to-day behaviours. Microlearning helps bridge that gap.
Short, focused learning moments allow people to engage with key topics in the flow of work. They don’t need to block out half a day or sit through long sessions. Instead, they can learn what they need, when they need it, and apply it immediately. It’s practical, timely, and aligned with how people actually need to work and learn today.
For example, if your organisation values inclusivity, a short module on recognising bias or practicing inclusive language helps make that value actionable. If you champion innovation, a micro-session on giving feedback or fostering experimentation supports the everyday behaviours that bring that value to life.
When learning reflects values, growth becomes natural
The real magic happens when learning isn’t just seen as “what we do”—but “who we are”. When people see that development opportunities align with their organisation values, they feel more connected, empowered, and motivated to grow.
A LinkedIn Learning report found that 94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development. But that investment needs to feel authentic and values-aligned to stick. People want to grow in ways that reflect their purpose and the purpose of the organisation they’re part of.
This alignment builds trust. And trust is the foundation of high-performing, future-ready teams.
Growing tips: How to connect values with learning
Here are a few practical ways to bring your values into the heart of your learning strategy:
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Start with your values, not just your goals. What do you want people to be, not just what you want them to do?
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Embed values into learning design. Use them to frame your microlearning topics and scenarios.
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Make learning part of the everyday. Offer content that’s easy to access, relevant, and short enough to fit into a coffee break.
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Model values at every level. Encourage leaders to engage with learning visibly and consistently.
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Celebrate the connection. Share stories of how learning helped someone live a core value or shift their practice.
At Skillpod, we believe that when learning is rooted in values, it becomes more than a one-off event—it becomes a habit. And when that habit is supported by timely, relevant microlearning, the impact multiplies.
Deloitte Insights
Deloitte. (2016). Culture: The overlooked foundation of organizational performance. Deloitte University Press. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2016/hc-trends-2016-culture.html
Amy Edmondson – Psychological Safety
Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999
LinkedIn Learning Report
LinkedIn Learning. (2018). 2018 Workplace Learning Report.
https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/workplace-learning-report