In the high-stakes world of healthcare, where lives hang in the balance and every decision can have significant consequences, a strong culture is not a nicety - it's a necessity. Yet, many organizations astonishingly leave culture to chance, neglecting the very foundation that could make or break their ability to deliver on patient safety and exceptional care.

The harsh reality is that without shared values, a common language and leaders who embody these principles in action, even the best-laid plans will crumble under the weight of disruption, moral distress, and burnout. In healthcare today, a resilient culture is not a 'want-to-have' - it's a 'must-have' that demands intentional cultivation, unwavering commitment, and relentless dedication from leaders at every level.

Values in Action: The Heart of a Well-Functioning and Resilient Culture

Shared values are the bedrock of a well-functioning and resilient healthcare environment. They are more than just words on a wall; they are the guiding principles that should shape every decision, interaction, and patient encounter. When values are truly embraced and lived, they become sources of meaning and motivation, clarity and consistency and connection and resilience.

Meaning and Motivation: Healthcare professionals are driven by a deep desire to make a difference in people's lives. When values align with this intrinsic force of motivation, it creates a sense of purpose and fuels a passion for delivering on collaborative teamwork and compassionate patient-centered care.

Clarity and Consistency: Shared values provide a framework for decision-making, ensuring that actions are aligned with the organization's core beliefs. This consistency builds trust with patients, streamlines processes, and fosters a sense of unity among staff.

Connection and Resilience: Values are a powerful force of meaning and wellbeing. When individuals feel connected to a shared purpose and supported by a values-driven culture, they are better equipped to navigate the social, emotional, mental and professional challenges inherent in healthcare – they are more resilient.

A Shared Language: Communicating Values with Clarity and Purpose

Values, however powerful, need a voice. A shared language is essential for translating those values into tangible actions and behaviors. This language goes beyond words, encompassing consistent terminology, non-verbal cues and constructive feedback.

Consistent Terminology: Using common terms and phrases when discussing values, staff expectations, and patient care ensures that everyone is on the same page. This promotes clear and efficient communication while minimizing misunderstandings and unnecessary conflict.

Non-Verbal Cues: Body language, tone of voice, and active listening skills all contribute to a shared understanding and reinforce the values being conveyed. Non-verbal behaviours are the most powerful way to reinforce and strengthen the meaning and potency of shared values.

Constructive Feedback: Creating a culture of open and honest feedback, rooted in shared values, allows for continuous improvement and reinforces desired behaviors. Ongoing feedback that is delivered through a values-guided common language ensures that people learn, adapt and grow better, together. This is an exceptional means for strengthening individual and collective resilience.

Leaders as Culture Champions: Modeling the Way

Leaders play a critical role in shaping and nurturing a values-driven culture. Leaders must operate as role models, mentors and coaches and they must be champions of communication.

Role Models: Leaders who embody the organization's values in their own actions and decisions set the standard for others to follow. Leaders who behave incongruently with values create a dissonance that can lead to disengagement, disillusionment and, when left unchecked, demoralization.

Mentors and Coaches: By providing guidance, support, and constructive feedback, leaders empower their teams to embrace and live the shared values. Leaders must recognize and reinforce preferred values-behaviours as well as call-out and correct behaviours that are incongruent or misaligned with shared values.

Champions of Communication: Leaders must ensure that everyone understands and uses the shared language of values, fostering clear and consistent communication throughout the organization. This must be maintained at every level, from the CEO to the leader in the mailroom.

The Impact

When values are clearly defined, communicated through a shared language and championed by leaders at all levels, the results are transformative and far reaching. Three key outcome areas certain to improve are staff engagement and retention, enhanced organizational performance and improved patient outcomes.

Increased Staff Engagement and Retention: Healthcare professionals are more likely to feel valued, supported, and fulfilled in an environment that aligns with their own values. When personal and professional values are aligned staff experience higher levels of engagement, motivation, performance and overall well-being.

Enhanced Organizational Performance: A strong culture fosters collaboration, innovation, and a commitment to excellence, ultimately leading to improved quality of care and better outcomes overall. An organization, like all systems, performs much better when the people working in it are feeling better and doing better, every day.

Improved Patient Outcomes: A culture of empathy, respect, and clear communication leads to better patient experiences, increased trust, and improved adherence to treatment plans. Improved patient outcomes are also boosted by better staff outcomes – It’s simple, when staff are doing better, so too are those they serve.

Key Organization and Leader Considerations

Building a resilient healthcare culture can’t happen by accident. It requires intention, discipline and a continuous effort to embed core values, shared language and quality leadership champions into the very fabric of the organization.

• Are your company values known and understood, by everyone?
• Do your leaders and their teams have a common language?
• Are your leaders culture champions?

When you promote and reinforce guiding values in action, establish a shared language, and empower your leaders to be culture champions, your organization will create an environment that fosters resilience and wellbeing, for everyone.

Stephen de Groot is President and CoFounder at Brivia. He is the author of Responsive Leadership (SAGE, 2016) and Getting to Better: A New Model for Elevating Human Potential at Work and in Life (Spring, 2025). To learn more about Stephen, his work and the Brivia approach click HERE.