Here's how you can align your team members with the company's values and brand image.

Something I have found to be helpful is during all-hands meetings to always refer to the company’s core values and highlight specific team members who have lived those values. Spotlighting examples of how team members brought the values to life in real world situations goes a long way to making the values actionable and meaningful.

Lay down a unifying and inspiring purpose, providing a clear direction for everyone contributing to our company. For the teams I lead, we call this the team's tempo. It sounds like, “This is our operating rhythm: feel the tempo; keep following that beat even when I and others are not around.” Feels like: ??Clarity: "I understand the bigger picture and how my work contributes“ ??Alignment: "We're all marching to the same drum, united in our purpose“ ??Belonging: "I'm part of this harmonious ensemble, playing my part" ??Psychological Safety: "I'm free to ask questions without judgment” ??Motivation: "Our inspiring beat energizes me to keep moving forward“

Start by clearly articulating these values, explaining not just what they are, but why they matter. Make them tangible through real-world examples and stories that resonate emotionally. Incorporate values into daily operations and decision-making processes. Encourage team members to share how they've embodied these principles in their work. Recognize and reward behaviors that exemplify company values and enhance brand image. Create opportunities for your team to experience the brand as customers do. This firsthand insight deepens their connection and sparks creative ideas for authentic brand representation. Regular workshops and team-building activities centered around values reinforce their importance.

After I establish the team's tempo, I introduce Quarterly Remixes. Every quarter, we shape a collab with front-liners. Everyone pitches in, shaping our progress towards our purpose by setting the goals they commit to achieving. Sounds like: "Let's come together and jam on a fresh new beat, blending our talents to create something greater." Feels like: ??Purpose: "Our remixes keep us grooving towards our inspiring long-term vision“ ?Excitement: "I look forward to these quarterly jam sessions to switch things up" ?Empowerment: "I have the freedom to improvise within the rhythm“ ??Innovation: "We can experiment with new beats and sounds every few months" ??Ownership: "I'm committed to this groove (i.e. goals) that we've co-created“

Early in my career, I was told that in order for a culture to function in one way, there had to be one way for employees to follow. This, in short, suggested that the senior leadership in an organization had to be the example (and, in doing so, adhere to a standard) in order for the rest of the team to remain unified. This is the importance of leadership not only embodying, but promoting a consistent, clear message for their teams to impart. Inconsistent messaging from leadership naturally leads to both confusion and a fragmented culture, when a single, clear narrative aligns all employees, and therefore consumers, across all touch points.

In my point of view there are 2 really important things, make sure you yourself know the values and the brand and that you yourself can identify with them, that's the only way you can live them and integrate them into work life and show it to your team members. Also explaining why you do this and why the values were chosen is always important. If you as a leader can't explain why, how should the others understand? Next to that, the communication is key: constant, open and and authentic communication.

"On good teams, coaches hold players accountable. On great teams, players hold players accountable." I create clarity for the team at the operational level. Weekly, we decide our groove as a team. We communicate what we'll work on via standups and Slack. Some teams meet first thing in the morning while others summarize at the end of day on an internal channel. Sounds like: "Let's come together and jam on a fresh new beat, blending our talents to create something greater." Feels like: ?????Inclusion: "My voice and ideas are valued in shaping our collective rhythm“ ??Ownership: "I'm invested in these goals because I helped craft them" ??Accountability: "I'm committed to achieving what I've signed up for"

Communicating, sharing the message, repeating; It is important, if not crucial, to keep talking about the brand's vision, putting it into action, sharing it, living it.

Psychological safety is #1 success factor in a team's effectiveness. Google's two-year study found psychological safety to be the most important component of high-performing teams. On top of that, psychological safety ?? boosts productivity by 20%, ??? reduces employee turnover by 27% ??and reduces human error by 40% Empathy-led and compassionate leadership is a winning approach for modern teams with monumental opportunity ahead of them.