Why Participatory Design Matters for Core Values
Many organizations invest time naming core values and then feel disappointed when little changes.
The issue is rarely that the values are wrong. More often, the process used to develop them didn’t create shared ownership, clarity, or accountability. Values that are designed for people, rather than with them, struggle to carry real weight in day‑to‑day work.
At Building For Mission, we’ve seen that participatory design is one of the most important conditions for values that actually shape culture, decisions, and performance.
Below is a practical framework for how organizations can approach core values work in a way that builds buy‑in and translates values into action, grounded in BFM’s four Ps: People, Process, Practice, and Progress.
1. People: Involve those who live the values
Core values are not abstract ideals, they are experienced daily by staff, managers, and leaders. That’s why effective values work begins by engaging the people who will be expected to live them.
Examples of strong participatory processes:
- Include staff and board voices early
- Create space for different roles, identities, and experiences to be heard
- Treat lived experience as essential data, not anecdotal input
This stage is about surfacing patterns—what people already value, where they feel aligned, and where tension or confusion exists.
2. Process: Design for clarity and trust
Process and structure allow participation to be meaningful. An effective values process typically includes:
- Introduction & grounding: why values matter now, how the process will work, and who holds decision authority
- Input collection: surveys, conversations, and facilitated reflection
- Synthesis: identifying themes, tensions, and repeated language
- Iteration and feedback: sharing drafts, inviting response, and refining
- Decision‑making: clearly naming how final values will be approved
When people understand how decisions will be made—and how their input will be used—trust increases, even when not every suggestion is adopted.
3. Practice: Translate values into behavior
Values only shape culture when people can recognize them in action.
This means moving beyond single‑word values and asking:
- What does this value look like in day‑to‑day work?
- How does it show up in decisions, relationships, and accountability?
- What behaviors align with this value, and what behaviors undermine it?
Participatory sessions that focus on values in action help teams:
- Name specific attitudes and behaviors connected to each value
- Identify where values already show up and where they don’t
- Commit to concrete examples of how values will be practiced across roles
This step is critical for avoiding values that sound good but feel vague or unenforceable.
4. Progress: Build systems that sustain the values
Values work doesn’t end when the words are approved.
To sustain values over time, organizations need to integrate them into their systems, including:
- Performance expectations and feedback
- Decision‑making frameworks
- Team norms and meeting practices
- Hiring, onboarding, and leadership development
Equally important is creating feedback loops that allow organizations to ask:
- Where are our values showing up clearly?
- What situations (or when hard for us to choose our values?
- What adjustments are needed as the organization evolves?
Why participatory design matters
When values are developed through participatory design, they do more than describe aspirations. They create shared language, reinforce accountability, and provide a foundation for decision‑making under pressure. Participatory processes help ensure values are owned, understood, and operationalized, so they can actually do the work they’re meant to do.
Building For Mission partners with organizations to design values processes that are inclusive, structured, and action‑oriented, helping leaders move core values from intention to integration.