Conflict of values in business: when your principles clash with your organisation’s culture

Dernière mise à jour de l'article le 15 June 2025

A company’s culture is made up of a number of tangible elements, such as its dress code and working methods, as well as a number of intangible elements, such as its values, beliefs and rituals.

It is thanks to this corporate culture that candidates are seduced (in theory) by their future company, which can assess not only the skills of candidates, but also their adherence to this corporate culture.

Above all, it is this lever that enables managers to motivate employees and develop a high level of commitment.

In this article, I’d like to focus on the company’s values, which reflect the vision of the company through its management.

More and more companies are communicating their values to unite employees, customers and partners.

And as a bonus, I’ll be suggesting a little exercise to help you assess your perception of your company’s values.

Values are derived from the company’s vision

It is the company’s vision that gives meaning, globally, to the company’s mission and, in particular, to the mission of each employee.

Values help to instil and communicate the way in which this vision is to be achieved.

These values will not only enable companies to give meaning, but also to guide the commitment and mobilisation of employees.

In short, to inspire employees to give their best.

It is thanks to these values that (in theory) employees can understand the company’s standards and the type of behaviour expected, considered to be in line with the company’s culture.

As these values are an integral part of the company, they must reflect reality and not the company’s ideal vision. And so they are shared by all employees, managers included.

In theory.

In practice, it’s not as simple as that.

Especially in very large companies, where disparities can be felt within teams or departments.

But how is it possible that values are not the same throughout the company?

Yes, the company’s values are written, published, broadcast and communicated…

Simply because most companies use concepts when they talk about their values « Integrity » « Collaboration » « Excellence »…

And so each employee will interpret in their own way, according to their own values and their own experience, what these values mean to them.

In fact, it is not enough simply to name these values, we also need to describe what they mean in concrete terms, in other words, what we put behind these words:

What types of behaviour are expected in relation to these values?

If you’d like to find out more about values and how to identify them, I invite you to listen to episode 2 of the Inspir’Action Quarterly podcast – Values, an untapped lever for success.

As well as writing them down, it’s important to bring them to life and make them felt in the day-to-day life of the company.

But we all know examples where the saying « Do as I say, not as I do » comes into its own.

Some of the behaviour observed does not entirely reflect the company’s values. Or even the decisions taken by management are not entirely in line with these values.

A lot of things can go on in the head of an employee who has to deal with this kind of situation:

(1) The value in question is not very important to this person, so « » .

Although this may not seem to have much impact, it can result in a level of commitment that I consider to be « neutral ». The employee is neither really disengaged nor really committed. They do what they are asked to do, without much conviction.

It’s not exactly a joyous occasion…

(2) The value in question is ultra mega important for the employee.

Ouch!

And in this case, we can say that this person is in a conflict of values with his or her organisation.

This happens when, for example, you are not OK with a decision that has been taken, because you consider that it goes against the company’s culture.

In this case, the employee is in dissonance between the behaviours they observe in their environment and the company culture.

And I think you understand very well what can happen: demotivation, disengagement…

There may be another case where an employee is in value dissonance with his or her organisation.

This is when the company’s culture is simply not aligned with the employee’s values, or when the company’s values simply run counter to the employee’s own values.

This is when, for example, you work on a daily basis in an environment where the behaviour of your colleagues or managers is not OK with you. However, these behaviours are considered to be a reflection of your company’s culture, i.e. in line with what is expected.

There is therefore a dissonance between the company’s values and your own.

Even if your brain understands that the behaviours of your colleagues or managers are in line with what is expected, your brain doesn’t understand why it should be OK with these behaviours, because they don’t correspond to what you believe in.

« These are not my values! »

« I feel like I’m dreaming! »

« How can we act this way? »

If you’re going through this type of situation, I’ll let you in on a little secret: you’re not the problem.

Once again, you are experiencing value dissonance: your value system is not aligned with what you experience on a daily basis, whether it’s the culture of the company as a whole or simply the team you work in.

An exercise to find out if you’re in this kind of situation…

If you’d like to work on your perception of your company’s values to understand where you stand, I suggest you pick up the 3-Step Guide to Assessing Your Perception of Your Company’s Values, available free of charge in the La Tribu community toolbox.

The important thing to remember is that it is entirely possible that you are experiencing a dissonance of values with your company.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the wrong place.

First and foremost, try to identify the values that are affected by the behaviour you observe in your daily life.

Next, try to assess whether it’s a local problem « » , i.e. whether it’s linked to your team and therefore possibly a team management problem, or whether it’s a global problem « » , i.e. affecting the whole company.

The solutions to be considered will not necessarily be identical depending on your situation: change of team, assignment, position, company or even professional environment.

In all cases, remember not to remain isolated.

Talk to people you know, someone you trust, or even a professional.

To find out more

Take a look atEpisode 003 of the Inspir’Action Quarter-Hour Podcast– How to manage Value Conflicts – where I talk about the different external value conflicts (with a person or an organisation).