You’re reading another installment of Small Practices, Big Impact: Ripple Leadership in Action — a series exploring the simple, intentional actions that create powerful ripples in leadership and culture.
INSPIRE
When we first defined our team’s core values (see: Sticky Core Values), we knew they weren’t just decorative words for a poster or handbook. They were meant to be foundational… guiding our mission, clarifying what made our team special, and strengthening our interdependent relationships.
And because core values are only powerful when they’re practiced, we refused to let them sit in a document. We wanted to operationalize them – iterating on them, storying them, and weaving them into the daily fabric of our work.
One of the most meaningful ways we did this was through a simple but powerful ritual:
Core Values in Action Celebrations.
It became a practice that didn’t just highlight individual moments…
- It shaped our identity.
- It told the story of who we were and were becoming.
- And it created ripples of pride, gratitude, and connection across our team.
ACTIVATE
The Practice
Here’s exactly how the practice worked:
1. The Week Before the Team Meeting
As the monthly meeting approached, I’d start asking team members who they had seen living out one of our core values.
Sometimes this was a short ask in a weekly email. But more often, it was one of my intentional “pocket questions” while doing morning rounds in the hallway.
Just asking the question starts what I lovingly call positive gossip, the kind of talk that lifts a team rather than drains it.
2. Quietly Notifying the Teammate
Once stories surfaced, I’d select one or more teammates to highlight. Before the meeting, I’d approach them privately:
- Letting them know a colleague had seen them living out a core value
- Naming the specific core value
- Asking if they’d be willing to share what that value means to them during the meeting
No details about the story. Just the honor.
They were always surprised… in the best way.
3. The Celebration in the Meeting
During the meeting:
- I’d invite the person who “nominated” them to share the story – what they saw, what it meant, why it stuck with them.
- Then the highlighted teammate would share what that core value means to them personally.
It created a moment of collective pride.
A layered reaffirmation of our identity.
A beautifully genuine celebration of what makes a team feel like a team.
Why This Practice Works (and Works Big)
1. It Shifts the Team’s Focus Toward What Matters
When a leader starts asking, “Who have you seen living our core values?” it communicates a crystal-clear focus.
This question alone signals that values aren’t wallpaper… they are the behaviors that fuel mission, vision, and culture. It connects directly to your purposeful leadership pillars (see: The Power of Purposeful Pillars).
2. It Harnesses the Power of Story
The teammates sharing stories articulate the lived meaning of the value.
Those stories become threads in the team’s collective tapestry.
Each one adds to the identity of “who we are” with a beautifully individual color, depth, and texture.
3. It’s a Genuine Honor
These recognitions are never staged. Never performative.
They’re rooted in daily moments when someone uses their genius to contribute to the mission.
That authenticity is what makes the recognition unforgettable.
4. It Strengthens Your Shared Identity
There’s enormous energy, a unifying momentum, when a team tells a shared story about who they are.
This practice reinforces the idea of “US,” the distinct culture you’re building together.
And the best part?
It costs nothing. It takes very little time. And the return on investment is wildly disproportionate to the effort.
It’s one of those small practices that becomes a big cultural multiplier.
AMPLIFY
If you want to bring this into your own team, try this simple rhythm:
- Pick one core value for the month.
- Ask teammates who they’ve recently seen living it out.
- Choose one or two people to highlight.
- Give them a heads-up and ask if they’ll share what the value means to them.
- In the meeting, let the teammate tell the story.
- Celebrate the moment together and capture it in a sentence, photo, or email to extend the ripple.
Small, simple, human.
And transformational.
Because every time a core value becomes a story… it becomes the fabric of your culture.
Every small practice creates a ripple. 🌀
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