👋 Hi my name is Roslyn, I’m a 2x founder and executive coach. I help founders fall in love with building their companies again. Learn about working 1:1 here.

Hi there,

I hope you got whatever you needed out of this long weekend! Personally I watched and played a lot of tennis! It’s the perfect weather for it, plus the US Open is here, which makes it extra motivating and fun. 🎾

I’m also noticing I’m feeling some of that “back to school” energy and am excited to channel it into my business. How about you? Do you experience a change in your energy as the seasons change?

This week we’re back to our Building Teams series. This is our last newsletter on the “outer work” of building teams. Next week we’ll shift gears to the “inner work” we can do as founders to show up as more calm, emotionally intelligent and compassionate leaders.

Today we’ll be talking about how to build a culture that’s rooted in values, including:

• How to pick and define your company values

• How to communicate and embed values in day-to-day behaviors

• How to use values for decision-making

By the way, last week I wrapped up my first founder group coaching cohort. I’m sad it’s over — we had such a wonderful group. If you’d like to learn about Within group coaching opportunities scroll down to “Building Within” or click here to stay in the know on when we launch our next cohort.

Let’s dive in.

Where we go deep on the outer work or the inner work of building a startup.

Building a Culture Rooted in Values

Culture isn't what you say—it's what you repeatedly do. It’s how people make decisions when you're not in the room.

As a founder, you have the opportunity (and responsibility) to build a culture that reflects your values, sustains your company’s mission, and inspires people to do their best, most meaningful work.

This newsletter will help you define, embed, and live your values across your company, so your culture is intentional, not accidental.

1. START WITH MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES

These are your company’s north star:

Mission = Why we exist

Vision = What future we’re creating

Values = How we behave along the way

“Core values are not what you aspire to—they are what you actually value, even if they cost you something.” — Jim Collins

REFLECTION EXERCISE:

To get clear on your values, ask:

• What do I personally stand for—no matter the circumstances?

• What behaviors do I reward and reject instinctively?

• What moments have made me most proud of our team? What was being demonstrated?

• What tradeoffs am I willing to make to stay in integrity?

Then test: would I be willing to lose money or fire a top performer to uphold this value?

Resource: This is the values exercise I do with all of my clients in our first session. Feel free to make a copy and fill it out if you’re overdue for check-in on your values.

2. HOW TO PICK VALUES THAT ACTUALLY MATTER

Your values should be:

• Authentic to the founder(s)

• Actionable (describe behaviors, not vague ideals)

• Distinctive (avoid generic words like “integrity” or “innovation” unless you can define them uniquely)

• Prioritized (you can’t have 10 values—pick 3–5 max and rank them)

Example:

Instead of “Excellence,” try:

Raise the Bar — We deliver work we’re proud of. We look for opportunities to improve and go the extra step when it matters.

3. VALUES IN ACTION

Your job is to turn values from posters into practices. Here’s how:

IN HIRING

• Ask behavioral interview questions tied to each value

• “Tell me about a time you gave tough feedback—how did you do it?”

• Score candidates against values in your decision-making rubric

IN ONBOARDING

• Share the why behind each value with personal stories

• Walk through 2–3 real scenarios where the value was challenged or upheld

• Ask new hires: “Which value resonates most with you, and why?”

IN PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

• Include a section on values alignment

• Give feedback on how work was done, not just what got done

• “You hit your goals and you did it in a way that uplifted others. That collaboration showed our value of ‘We Win Together.’”

IN TEAM SHOUTOUTS

• Make it a habit: “I want to recognize Alex for demonstrating ‘Speak the Truth with Kindness’ in the way she handled that client situation.”

• Consider weekly or monthly values awards (small gestures, big impact)

4. USE VALUES IN DECISION-MAKING

When a tough choice arises, your values are your compass.

• Facing a tradeoff? Ask: “Which option is more aligned with our values?”

• Use values explicitly in leadership meetings to guide product, hiring, or culture decisions

• Create a decision-making checklist:

  • “Is this in service of our mission?”

  • “Does this align with our value of long-term thinking?”

  • “Are we showing courage or avoidance?”

This builds a shared language and empowers others to lead with integrity, not just approval-seeking.

5. BUILDING CULTURE BEYOND VALUES: PRACTICES THAT MATTER

Culture is shaped not just by values, but by daily rhythms, rituals, and behaviors. Here are foundational practices:

CLARITY

• Document your culture and values in a Notion or internal handbook

• Create clarity around expectations, roles, and decision rights 

• Keep revisiting your culture—not just at offsites, but during change or growth moments

CONSISTENCY

• Culture gets built through repetition

• Celebrate value-driven wins weekly

• Address behavior misaligned with values swiftly and kindly 

COMMUNICATION

• Lead by example: name values when you make decisions

• Create forums where people can speak up about what’s working and what’s not (Conscious Leadership suggests asking: “Where are we not walking our talk?”)

INCLUSION

• Build values with your early team or get feedback after drafting

• Check for cultural bias: Are these values universal or unconsciously exclusive?

• Ask: “Would someone from a different background or personality style feel like they can thrive here?”

6. REFRESHING VALUES AS YOU GROW

As the company scales, revisit:

• Do these still feel true?

• Are we living them or just saying them?

• What values are emerging that reflect who we’ve become?

RUN A VALUES REFRESH SESSION:

• Collect feedback from across the org

• Audit your practices: are they aligned?

• Update language to reflect current culture—but don’t abandon your core

FINAL WORD: CULTURE IS WHAT YOU TOLERATE AND CELEBRATE

Culture isn’t what’s on your website. It’s the behaviors you reward, the feedback you give, the silence you allow, and the risks you take. If you want a culture rooted in values, those values have to be lived, spoken, and reflected in every corner of your company.

Define your culture clearly. Live it consistently. And trust your values to guide you through the inevitable messy middle of company building.

If you want even more inspiration on building a values-aligned culture, check these out:

• Founder newsletter: I love Connie Lo’s (Co-Founder of Three Ships) approach to injecting values into day-to-day culture. Read about it in her newsletter.

• Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0: This book will get you inspired to keep coming back to your why and injecting your mission, vision and values into how you do business.

• Conscious Leadership: This book will motivate you to build your company and culture with deep self-awareness and intentionality.

I hosted my first ever female founder group coaching cohort over the last couple of months and it was a really beautiful experience. 

We have some brilliant, thoughtful, conscious founders in the Within community and I’ve been feeling called to create spaces to bring this community together. 

It’s usually my instinct to try to get things “perfect” before launching something, but that’s never really going to be possible. So in July I decided to just go for it and launch my first group coaching cohort, build it as I learned what everyone was needing and iterate along the way.

What emerged was a group coaching experience largely focused on the “inner work” of being a founder. 

It was partially educational, with teachings each week on topics like managing anxiety & overwhelm, building culture from a values-aligned place and understanding how our inner worlds influence our outer actions. 

It was partially an opportunity for each person to be coached by me and others on challenges that were coming up for them in running their companies. 

And it was partially a chance for each person to be seen and supported by someone else in the group. My favorite part was getting to observe the beautiful wisdom and compassion that founders had for one another. 

Here’s some of the feedback shared in our final coaching call: 

“I’m way more aware of my nervous system day to day. Instead of living in chaos, I can recognize activation and do something about it.”

“Parts work clicked for me. I now notice the parts throughout the day and understand why I’m reacting—super helpful as every day in business can feel different.”

“The more I invest in my personal growth as a founder, the more the business grows. This container gave me deeper self-understanding that shows up in our results.”

I’m so excited to integrate my learnings from running this first group coaching cohort and build on it with my next one! 

If you’re interested in being a part of it, click here, and I’ll be sure to send you the details when I launch.

• 1:1 Coaching: I want to help you fall in love with building your company again. Book a free coaching consultation to learn how we’ll work together on this.

• Group Coaching: Click here to stay in the know on when our next Within Group Coaching cohort launches.

• Let’s be friends: If you want to see more of the BTS of building Within and receive more tips and ideas on building with integrity, connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram.

• Finally, tell me how you liked this newsletter. I read every piece of feedback.

Thanks for reading today. I’m so grateful you’re here.

With love,
Roslyn 💚