Document™
- 1This is not a values statement. It names what your organization does — the specific observable behaviors that demonstrate each founding value at three levels: Individual Contributor, Manager, and Senior Leader.
- 2Each behavioral anchor is scored for specificity. An anchor passes when someone who was not present at founding could both understand what it requires and observe whether it is present.
- 3The completed document is yours to print, copy, and use. Allow 20–30 minutes completed honestly.
Chapter 12 of the EQV Framework is explicit: behavioral anchors that say "demonstrate respect" fail the standard. Anchors that say "addresses a team member's concern directly and in the next available conversation rather than noting it for a later review" pass it. As you write, aim for that level of precision.
This tool scores each behavior for specificity and flags anchors that may need strengthening before the document is used for hiring or performance review.
- 1Has holding this value cost the organization something? A relationship, an opportunity, revenue, or approval? If it has never cost anything, it is a preference, not a value.
- 2Has this value been defended under pressure — when it was inconvenient, unpopular, or commercially risky?
- 3Would employees at multiple levels name this value unprompted when describing what the organization actually rewards?
Observability: Could a colleague standing outside this person describe seeing this behavior without needing to know their internal state or intention?
Pressure: Is this behavior likely to be tested by real organizational pressures — financial, relational, or reputational?
The founding values in this document do not change. The specific behaviors that demonstrate those values in a new organizational context sometimes must. Review behavioral anchors quarterly and revise when the organization's context changes significantly in scale, market, or operating conditions.
The values hold. The behavioral expression of those values must remain current to remain operative.