Not all values are universal. You have to pick the ones that work for your team, your goals, and your environment.
Why Your Engineering Culture Needs More Than Just Poster Values
A lot of companies have values. Fewer have values that actually influence decisions. And fewer still have values that were purposefully designed for the environment they’re trying to operate in.
In engineering leadership, values aren’t just decoration—they’re the foundation. They guide how teams collaborate, how decisions are made, how trade-offs are evaluated, and how people hold themselves and others accountable.
But too often, we borrow values from companies we admire without asking whether those ideals make sense in our context. What works for a growth-stage SaaS company might fall flat inside a legacy enterprise. What works for a highly regulated industry might kill momentum at a startup.
How to Choose the Right Values for Your Team
Choosing values is not about copying what works elsewhere. It’s about optimizing for your goals, constraints, and team makeup. Ask yourself:
- What kind of behaviors do we need to reinforce to hit our goals?
- What dysfunctions or habits do we want to replace?
- Where do we consistently see friction in how we work?
From there, define values that are specific, memorable, and observable. Avoid vague ideals like “excellence” and focus on behaviors you can point to, coach on, and reward.
Some of the best values aren’t aspirational—they’re operational.
Values Drive Culture, But Only If You Enforce Them
Creating values is just the beginning. If you want them to shape culture, they have to be:
- Modeled by leadership.
- Reinforced in feedback, recognition, and decision-making.
- Measured through team health surveys or performance signals.
- Integrated into hiring, onboarding, and promotion processes.
You can’t roll out a set of values once and expect change. Culture follows behavior—and behavior follows reinforcement.
A Real-World Example: Engineering Culture in Action
A friend of mine, let’s call him Marcus, took over as Head of Engineering at a logistics startup. The company had values like “Move Fast” and “Crush It” on the wall, but those weren’t reflected in how the engineering team actually worked. The reality was slow dev cycles, burnout, and cross-functional friction.
Marcus didn’t start by rewriting values. He started by listening. He asked: What’s actually getting rewarded? What behaviors do we default to when under pressure?
Eventually, he proposed new engineering principles tailored to their needs:
- Solve for root cause
- Communicate early, even if it’s uncomfortable
- Prioritize systems thinking over heroism
He didn’t present them in an all-hands. He lived them. He modeled them. He coached them. And over time, they became how the team operated.
Values Aren’t Magic—But They’re Powerful
Well-chosen values can align your team, speed up decision-making, and create a strong sense of shared purpose. But only if they’re:
- Designed with intention
- Reinforced with action
- Measured for impact
If you’re trying to reshape your engineering culture, don’t start with perks or processes. Start with the principles you want your team to live by—and then do the work to help them stick.
⸻
📬 Want more on systems thinking, engineering leadership, and building resilient teams?
Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: Beyond the Commit
Top comments (0)