Values like trust, integrity, and respect shape the most important moments of our lives. Yet living those values is often harder than we expect—especially when decisions are complicated, emotions run high, or the right path isn’t obvious.

ValuesCrafting exists to help bridge the gap between knowing your values and living them—between the person you hope to be and the choices you make every day.

Each week, I share reflections, real stories, and practical guidance drawn from decades of helping leaders, employees, families, and friends align their actions with what matters most.

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The kind of choices that build trust.
Shape culture.
Strengthen relationships at work, at home, and in the spaces in between.

View from where I write, reflect, and begin again.

Why ValuesCrafting

I started ValuesCrafting because I’ve seen both sides—what happens when words and actions align, and what happens when they don’t.

When we live our values, trust deepens.
Energy rises.
People bring their best selves forward because they know they matter.

When we don’t, even the best teams lose something essential.
So do families.
So do we.

ValuesCrafting helps close that gap.

It isn’t about perfection. None of us live our values flawlessly. I could spend my whole life trying and still fall short—because I’m human.

It’s about awareness, intention, and grace, especially when life is messy and the right choice isn’t obvious.

Fortunately, I’ve witnessed countless people living their values in the toughest moments. Those experiences have given me much to share.

Who ValuesCrafting Is For

You might lead a team, coach clients, raise a family, or quietly hold things together behind the scenes.

You believe people matter, and you want that belief to show up in how you live and lead.

You care more about honesty, depth, and connection than about control.

If that sounds like you, this space will feel like home.

Many of my readers are HR professionals, educators, helpers, managers, or steady souls others rely on for clarity. But job titles don’t matter much here.

What matters is how you show up—for yourself, for others, and for what you believe in.

What You’ll Find in ValuesCrafting

Each issue offers reflections and real examples you can carry with you:

• How to navigate difficult conversations without losing your center
• How to make decisions you won’t regret—even under pressure
• How to build trust, the foundation of every meaningful relationship
• How to stay true to your values as life shifts and tests you

These aren’t theories.

They’re lived lessons—sometimes hard-earned, sometimes gentle reminders—that we’re all still learning.

The ValuesCrafting Philosophy

Everything I write begins with one belief:

People are trustworthy, capable, and worthy of respect and care—unless they clearly show you otherwise.

I’ve spent more than three decades teaching, consulting, and helping build a values-based workplace at TechSmith. Through all those years, this truth has held steady:

When you set high expectations for people, they usually rise to meet them.

When leaders begin with cynicism or suspicion, people often shrink to match those expectations instead.

That philosophy shapes every article I write and every example I share.

• 12 Deeply Held Beliefs That Shape ValuesCrafting

An Invitation

If you believe the world doesn’t need more talk about values—but more people willing to live them—

I hope you’ll stay.

Because when you live your values, you don’t just change your day.

You change the world around you.

— Susan Heathfield

ValuesCrafting is for purpose-driven people who believe culture is built—one values-based choice at a time.

You're receiving this email because you subscribed to ValuesCrafting. As we move into 2025, I’m reflecting on how aligning decisions with values has shaped my life. I hope these insights bring clarity and encouragement as you navigate your own path. Thank you for being part of ValuesCrafting. If this resonates, I’d love for you to share it with someone who might find it helpful. Warmly, Susan

A Lesson in Values-Driven Decision-Making

A Framework for Decisions That Reflect What Matters Most

At TechSmith, we learned that decision-making isn't just about efficiency or cost; it's about reflecting the values that shape our culture.

Let me share an example that taught us this lesson the hard way.

In preparation for a significant technology show in Las Vegas, a new marketing manager made a decision that clashed with TechSmith's values.

To save money, she booked separate accommodations for our booth staff when Bill, my husband, I, and our employees had traditionally stayed in the same hotel

Staff members had repeatedly advised her that at TechSmith, everyone stayed together in the same hotel, regardless of their role, to foster a sense of equality and shared purpose. Staying together also made debriefing, planning, and shared meals seamless.

She dismissed their input.

When our 18 employees arrived at their hotel, they found the path to the door lined with prostitutes and drug dealers plying their wares just yards from the entryway. This entryway was their initial greeting.

Alarmed and uncomfortable, they set out for the exhibit hall and to find alternative accommodations. Upon arriving, a senior manager heard their concerns and immediately secured the better hotel accommodations they found across town.

This separation disrupted our usual debriefings, but Bill and I bridged the gap by meeting the team at their new hotel for discussions, drinks, and dinners.

It wasn't ideal, but it was essential to support our team.

Meanwhile, the marketing manager chose to stay at the original hotel, possibly to make a point. A concerned employee, embodying our value of care, stayed next door to ensure her safety.

Unfortunately, his night ended in chaos when police broke down his door, mistaking it for a drug dealer's room. He joined us at our hotel the next day, and the team rallied to maintain professionalism despite the rocky start.

This incident underscored a critical lesson: decision-making at TechSmith was never about saving money at the expense of safety, trust, and values.

We relied on respect, care, and empowerment to guide our choices. Failing to align with these principles created unnecessary risks and strained the team.

Ultimately, this experience reinforced the importance of listening, prioritizing shared values, and ensuring that decisions reflect the culture we worked so hard to build.

This decision was just one example of how this manager's values failed to align with TechSmith's. While she may have had good intentions, her choices were consistently out of step with the culture we worked for years to build.

It became clear that she wasn't the right fit for our team, and we soon parted ways.

This incident became a turning point, reinforcing the need to hire leaders who possess technical skills but also profoundly align with our shared values.

It reinforced a vital truth: decisions grounded in shared values aren't just about avoiding mistakes but building trust, fostering collaboration, and creating an environment where everyone feels respected and supported.

At TechSmith, we learned that even one misaligned decision could disrupt the harmony we strived to maintain.

From Story to Decision Making Action

The experience with the marketing manager wasn't just about one bad decision. It was a stark reminder of aligning decisions with core values.

Every choice we make, big or small, can affect the people around us, our work, and the culture we cultivate.

When decisions don't reflect our values, even the best intentions can lead to consequences we never intended.

But how do we consistently make decisions that align with what matters most?

How can we apply our values to guide us through challenging situations, just like we did at TechSmith when faced with challenges?

The Framework for Values-Based Decision Making

Here's a simple framework to apply when making any decision, whether in the workplace or in your personal life.

This framework will help you clarify your values and use them as a compass when you encounter a decision point.

Identify the Core Values at Play

Ask yourself: What values are most important in this situation? Is it respect, honesty, fairness, or another value?

For example, in the marketing manager story, respect, equality, and safety were key drivers for prioritizing team well-being over cost-saving measures.

Evaluate the Impact

Ask yourself: Who will this decision affect? How will it impact others, both short-term and long-term? In the case of the hotel debacle, we had to ask ourselves if the cost savings were worth the potential harm to our team's safety and trust.

Consult Your Internal Compass

Ask yourself: Does this decision align with my deeper values and personal beliefs? In moments of doubt, connect with your internal compass. For example, if you value empowerment, ask yourself how your decision will support or hinder the empowerment of others.

Gather the Facts

Ask yourself: What do you know about the situation? What's the context? Information is key to making an informed decision that respects everyone involved. Even with limited data, we rely on the values that have consistently guided us, like trust and transparency.

Consider the Long-Term Effects

Ask yourself: How will this decision play out in the future? Will it build or erode trust? Will it create an environment of respect and collaboration, or will it lead to division and dissatisfaction?

Make the Decision

What is the best course of action considering your gathered values and insights? Now that you've considered the facts, the people involved, and your values, make the decision that aligns with your personal and professional standards.

Review and Reflect on the Decision

Ask yourself: How did the decision play out? What went well? How could you have improved your decision? Reflecting ensures that we continue to grow and refine our decision-making process. Even when a decision leads to challenges, we learn and adapt.

Living Your Values

This framework can help you make values-driven decisions that lead to better outcomes, smoother collaboration, and a workplace (or life) filled with trust, respect, and shared purpose.

You strengthen your leadership by consistently aligning your decisions with your core values. You create an environment where everyone feels respected, heard, and empowered.

How ValuesCrafting Began—and Why It Matters More Than Ever

What inspired this space and what it offers you each week

Dear Readers,

Today, I want to tell you how ValuesCrafting came to be.

Some of you have been here since the early days—when I was still testing titles, refining the focus, and listening closely for what resonated. Your feedback helped shape this space more than you know. Thank you.

But this letter is for you if you’re newer to the community.

Where It All Started

ValuesCrafting didn’t arrive fully formed. It started with a question that kept surfacing in my consulting, writing, and leadership work:

“We know what our values are… but how do we live them—especially when things get messy?”

For decades, I’ve worked in and alongside companies navigating real challenges: hiring, layoffs, culture repair, rapid growth, interpersonal breakdowns, stalled strategies, and everything in between.

As co-owner of TechSmith Corporation, a values-driven company of 300+ employee-owners, I’ve seen how hard it is to stay grounded in what matters most when the stakes are high or the pace is fast.

But I’ve also seen what becomes possible when people lead with integrity and follow through with small, meaningful actions.

A Pattern Emerged

Years ago, I worked with Michigan Modernization Services. We paired HR and management consultants with engineers and process experts to evaluate and help small manufacturers strengthen their systems and teams.

We delivered competent recommendations—well-researched, relevant, and tailored.

However, implementation often failed.

Why?

Because leaders didn’t know how to turn recommendations into action, they couldn’t paint a picture of what change looked like. And most crucially, they didn’t realize that to shift their culture, they had to shift their own behavior first.

That experience shaped everything that followed.

The seeds of ValuesCrafting were first planted following this experience.

What I Saw—and Still See

Most values content stops short. It names values like trust or empathy but doesn’t show how to practice them day by day in real situations—especially when the pressure’s on.

I saw leaders hungry for examples. Helping professionals needing resources. Employees are eager to contribute but unsure how to align with vague cultural ideals.

That’s why I started writing ValuesCrafting.

Not as a series of lectures. But as weekly support. I wanted to provide a place to explore what it means to live and lead with your values in messy, meaningful, beautiful real life.

What You’ll Find Here

Each week, I share one idea—grounded in experience, shaped by questions people have asked hundreds of times.

You’ll find:

• Concrete behaviors that build trust, empathy, and credibility

• True stories of people trying, stumbling, and showing up anyway

• Encouragement for those guiding others through change

• Gentle reminders that values don’t live in our intentions—they live in our choices

Thank You for Coming to ValuesCrafting

Whether you’re an HR leader, manager, coach, or an individual simply trying to live with more alignment and heart—thank you.

I hope ValuesCrafting feels like both a guide and a companion.

And if you find these insights helpful, please share them. We grow stronger when we grow together.

With gratitude,

Susan

Why Subscribe to ValuesCrafting?

Thousands of newsletters have been written, so why choose this one?

Because ValuesCrafting isn’t just about ideas. It’s about putting values into action.

• Practical guidance you can use right away

  Each issue offers clear, actionable steps to help you live and lead with greater alignment—at work, at home, and in everyday moments that matter.

• Real-life insights from the field

  These beliefs aren’t just theories. They’re shaped by decades of hands-on experience leading teams, shaping culture, and helping people grow.

• Support for people who guide others

  Are you a manager, mentor, coach, or HR professional? In that case, ValuesCrafting gives you tangible ways to guide people with clarity and purpose.

• Rooted in real life

  Values don’t stop at the office door. This is about life. Relationships. Decisions. Growth. ValuesCrafting bridges it all.

Most Recent and Core Articles

• The ValuesCrafting Journey: My journey to writing ValuesCrafting began years ago—and if you’re drawn to this publication, you’re probably already on your journey toward living more authentically. That’s good news. This means that ValuesCrafting can help you accelerate your progress.

• What Exactly Are Core Values? Core values are traits, integrities, or qualities that are not just worthwhile. They represent an individual or an organization’s highest priorities, deeply held beliefs, and core, fundamental driving forces.

• 12 Deeply Held Beliefs: Explore the deeply held foundational values, beliefs, and principles that underlie the information and approaches recommended on ValuesCrafting.

  Know of a friend, colleague, or family member navigating change or striving to lead with values? Please share this with them. One thoughtful share can spark real impact.

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Trust. You know when you feel it and notice when it's missing. But what exactly is trust, and how can you define it practically in your workplace? How do you nurture and grow the trust you have? Can you build trust where it's lacking? These are essential questions, especially in our rapidly changing world.

Trust is the foundation for effective communication, employee retention, motivation, and discretionary energy—that invaluable extra effort people willingly invest in their work. When trust thrives in an organization or relationship, almost everything becomes more accessible and achievable.

A Definition of Trust

When reading about trust, many definitions exist that purportedly describe it in understandable ways—but don't. Trust is a valuable and critical quality in building a relationship—personal and business relationships depend on it.

But what is trust, how can you build trust, and how can you be sure that you and those you work with are trustworthy?

A recent, comprehensive definition of trust in Psychology Today suggests it is a complex construct involving cognitive and emotional components. It's a complex process that includes a sense of confidence and security in the trustworthiness of others, not just predicting their behavior. Trust is context-specific, combining rational assessments and emotional responses.

In Psychology Today, Paul Thagard, Ph. D., points out that mistrust isn't just about predicting negative behavior; it's an emotional response involving dislike and fear that affects how we perceive others.

He says, "Mistrust is an emotional process that goes far beyond the estimation of low probabilities about people doing what they are supposed to. It also requires representation of the self, the person mistrusted, and the relevant aspect, but it differs from trust in assigning negative emotions akin to dislike and fear."

The Three Constructs of Trust

Duane C. Tway, Jr., Ph.D., outlines three constructs of trust:

1. Capacity for trusting: You need life experiences to develop trust. If your parents and teachers were untrustworthy, you might have a low capacity for trust—no one else has been trustworthy, so why should you trust this business partner?

2. Perception of competence: A person can be honest, but you cannot trust them if they are incompetent. Likewise, it would help if you could do the work at hand. To experience trust, you must trust that a person can do the job effectively.

3. Perception of intentions: How do people perceive your actions, words, direction, and mission? Are they self-serving, or do they benefit everyone involved? Trust is unlikely if others see you as self-serving.

Why Trust Is Critical in a Healthy Organization

Would you go to work every day if you were wondering if you'd get paid on time? Would you hire someone if you doubted they'd show up for work? Trust is foundational for success. You need to trust the people within your organization to be successful so that you can experience success, too.

This is why bullying wreaks havoc in a company; you can't trust a bully's intentions and that what they say to you is true. A lack of trust creates a miserable environment.

Micromanagers operate with low levels of trust. They do not believe their employees can accomplish anything without checking on them frequently and giving guidance. Under micromanagement, employees quickly become miserable.

The critical component in all these issues is trust.

Even in trustworthy organizations, misunderstandings or mistakes can erode trust. For instance, if an employee misinterprets a communication or a customer order is misplaced, trust can falter—even without dishonest intentions. And if a business owner files for bankruptcy, it raises questions: Is this action a lack of trustworthiness or just bad luck?

What Injures the Trust Relationship?

Building a strong trust relationship is difficult if people do not understand your intentions. Keeping your rationale and intentions hidden can lead to mistrust.

People who have had bad experiences before joining your organization may find building trust challenging. It may take years of steady, performed-as-expected behavior to build trusting relationships. And after you do that, one wrong or dishonest decision (or misunderstood decision) can destroy that trust you worked so hard to build.

Many organizations struggle with trust issues. Employees may distrust management, and management may need to trust employees, creating a tense and unproductive workplace.

The Critical Role of the Leader in Trust Relationships

Kurt T. Dirks, now Dean of the University of Utah - David Eccles School of Business, studied the impact of trust on college basketball team success. After surveying the players on 30 teams, he determined that players on successful teams were more likely to trust their coach.

He found that players on winning basketball teams trusted their coach's knowledge, intentions, and reliability. While this trust was vital in successful team leadership, it wasn't necessarily considered vital for teammates to trust each other.

Paul J. Zak, in The Neuroscience of Trust, in the Harvard Business Review, found that compared with people at low-trust companies, people at high-trust companies report experiencing 74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29% more satisfaction with their lives, and 40% less burnout. (What's not to love?)

Zak said, "In my research, I've found that building a culture of trust is what makes a meaningful difference. Employees in high-trust organizations are more productive, have more energy at work, collaborate better with their colleagues, and stay with their employers longer than people working at low-trust companies."

In another study, C. Ken Weidner, who has served as an Assistant Professor of Management at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia since 2000, findings suggest several implications for organizational performance and adaptation.

Weidner found that a manager's skill in developing relationships that reduce or eliminate distrust positively impacts employee turnover. He believes that turnover may result from organizations failing to draw people in. He also found that trust in the supervisor is associated with better individual performance.

Build a Trust Relationship Over Time

Trust is built and maintained by many small actions over time. Consistency in honesty and reliability in small matters builds the foundation for trust in more significant issues.

Marsha Sinetar wisely said, "Trust is not a matter of technique, but character; we are trusted because of our way of being, not because of our polished exteriors or expertly crafted communications." A single lapse can significantly damage the relationship of trust.

In conclusion, trust is the cornerstone of any successful organization. It's the foundation for effective communication, employee retention, and overall organizational health.

Building and maintaining trust requires honesty, authenticity, and consistent actions. This simple yet profound truth is the heart of creating a positive and productive work environment.

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Leaders know what they value and recognize the importance of ethical behavior. The best leaders exhibit their values and ethics in their leadership style and actions. Your leadership ethics and values should be visible because you live them in your actions daily.

A lack of trust is a problem in many workplaces. Mistrust is understandable if leaders never identify their values in these workplaces.

People don't know what to expect. If leaders have identified and shared their values, living them visibly daily will create trust. To say one sentiment and to do another will damage trust—possibly forever.

3 Constructs of Trust

The Most Important Secret About Trust explores three trust constructs. Dr. Duane C. Tway calls trust a construct because it comprises three components: the capacity for trusting, the perception of competence, and the perception of intentions.

Workplace ethics take the same route. If the organization's leadership has a code of conduct and ethical expectations, it becomes an organization joke if the leaders fail to live up to their published code. Leaders who exhibit ethical behavior powerfully influence the actions of others.

You must have all three components to make a difference in your organization.

Choose Your Leadership Values

The following are examples of values. You might use these as the starting point for discussing values within your organization:

As a leader, choose the values and ethics that are most important to you, the values and ethics that you believe in, and that define your character. Then, live them visibly every day at work. Living your values is one of the most powerful tools available to help you lead and influence others. Don't waste your best opportunity.

Consciously Choose Your Organization Values

Effective, customer-centric, and employee-oriented organizations develop a clear, concise, and shared meaning of values/beliefs, priorities, and direction within their organization.

They want every employee to understand, contribute to, and live the values. Once defined, these values should impact every aspect of the organization.

You must support and nurture this impact, or identifying the values will have wasted your time. People will feel fooled and misled unless they see the exercise's impact within your organization every day.

Leaders must lead in every aspect of selecting and living organization values.

Examples of Workplace Values

These were developed by several organizations with facilitation by their leaders.

A Human Resources Development office chose:

• Integrity

• Belonging/Caring

• Helping/Contributing

• Inner Harmony, Peace of Mind

• Personal Growth, Learning, and Self-Actualization

• Achievement/Accomplishment

A University Student Health Center staff developed the acronym "I CARE" to remember and express their values. In the final document, each word is defined by a series of value statements that describe how the value is expressed in the workplace.

• Integrity

• Compassion

• Accountability

• Respect

• Excellence

Characteristics of a Successful Leadership Style

Much is written about what makes successful leaders. Many leaders believe these ten characteristics and actions are key. You could undoubtedly add more but start with these.

• Choose to lead and practice adaptive leadership.

• Be the person others choose to follow.

• Provide a vision for the future.

• Provide inspiration.

• Make other people feel important and appreciated.

• Live your values. Behave ethically.

• Set the pace with your expectations, requirements, and your example.

• Establish an environment of continuous improvement.

• Provide opportunities for people to grow, both personally and professionally.

• Care and act with compassion and communicate positive mental health.

  

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Core values are traits, integrities, or qualities that are not just worthwhile. They represent an individual or an organization’s highest priorities, deeply held beliefs, and core, fundamental driving forces.

Values comprise the heart of what your organization and its employees stand for worldwide. They demonstrate your own intrinsic worth and beliefs.

Values are also intrinsic to the vision of your organization that you present to customers and stakeholders. Internally, your values are the manifestation of your soul that your employees experience.

Your core values are fundamental to attracting and retaining the best, most contributing employees. Your values demonstrate how you value your employees every day.

Core values are also known as guiding principles because they form a solid core of who you are, what you believe, and who you are and want to be going forward.

Core Values Define What Your Organization Demonstrates

Your values describe how you want your organization to resonate with and appeal to employees and the external world. The core values should be integrated with your employees' belief systems and actions so that clients, customers, and other shareholders see your values in action.

For example, successful companies' hearts and core values are evident in how they serve customers and value employees.

• When customers tell the company they feel cherished by the business, you know your employees live your core value of extraordinary customer care and service.

• You demonstrate the value of partnership when customer feedback guides decisions about your product offerings.

• When employees express gratitude for your care and thoughtfulness when they experience tragedy and times of sorrow, you are demonstrating your values of empathy, compassion, and appreciation.

Core Values Form the Foundation of Your Organization

Values form the foundation for everything that happens in your workplace. The core values of the employees in your workplace, along with their experiences, upbringing, and so on, meld together to form your corporate culture.

The core values of the founder of an organization permeate the workplace. Their core values are powerful shapers of the organization’s culture.

The core values of your senior leaders are also important in developing your culture. The reason? These senior leaders have great power in your organization to set the direction and define daily actions.

Senior Leaders and Managers Define the Employee Experience

The senior leaders and the managers who report to them set the tone for establishing the quality of the work environment for people.

The quality of the work environment employees experience reflects the core values of all employees, but the values of your senior leaders who walk their talk are overreaching.

To incorporate and reinforce their values, your leaders and managers have selected employees who they believe have congruent values and fit your workplace culture. They hope that the employee experience of being valued will enhance the desired culture.

Closer to Home

Parents or partners also shape the culture experienced by family members in the home. Your values exhibited in words, actions, and expectations define the experience of family members. They help shape the world experience and, hopefully, help the next generation express values congruent with yours.

Conclusion

You cannot overemphasize the power of core values at work or home. They are beacons guiding your everyday actions in your workplace and life. They form the foundation for everything else: decisions, actions, relationships, and the environment in which you live.

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The ValuesCrafting Journey

My journey to writing ValuesCrafting began years ago—and if you’re drawn to this publication, you’re probably already on your journey toward living more authentically.

That’s good news. It means ValuesCrafting can help you accelerate your progress.

I don’t claim to have all the answers. But my experiences—hard-won, field-tested, and real—have taught me valuable lessons. By sharing them, I hope to offer guidance and encouragement as you work to live and lead in alignment with your values.

It’s my core belief that when people live their values, they naturally carry them into the workplace. And when that happens, the collective values of individuals shape the organization’s culture—intentionally or not.

My goal is to help you shape it with intention.

What I Learned the Hard Way

Years ago, I worked with an organization called Michigan Modernization Services. We sent teams of consultants—pairing management and HR expertise with tech and engineering support—into small manufacturing companies.

Our task was to evaluate their practices and recommend improvements to help them remain competitive. We presented those ideas in a final report, accompanied by follow-up visits to support implementation.

And here’s what I learned:

The process didn’t work.

Despite the quality of our ideas, these small companies struggled. Their leaders were inexperienced in driving real change. They couldn’t visualize how to bring the recommendations to life—and they certainly couldn’t help their employees picture those changes in their day-to-day jobs.

Even more crucially, they didn’t understand that if they wanted employees to change, they had to change. Employees need more than logic and reassurance. They need to experience something different in their work environments to feel safe stepping into something new.

And even when we did manage to make progress, another challenge showed up fast:

Everything in their lives and workplace was constantly changing.

Leaders came and went. Company directions shifted. New customer demands, new compliance rules, new economic realities. Some of the most invested people we worked with left—and they took their insight, buy-in, and knowledge with them.

And just like that, so many of our gains were lost.

A Shift in My Approach

That experience reshaped how I consult, train, write, and lead.

Instead of simply offering ideas, I committed to providing hands-on support:

• Coaching leaders

• Facilitating tough conversations

• Modeling new behaviors

• And most of all, staying involved long after the “consulting” phase ended

Sometimes, that follow-up lasted for years.

That early experience continues to shape everything I do—including the foundation of ValuesCrafting.

Why ValuesCrafting Exists

In the process, I discovered a crucial gap:

People who care deeply about living their values—and guiding others to do the same—often have no idea how to put those values into practice.

We have numerous words to describe values such as empathy, respect, or integrity. But what do they look like in action?

How do you actually demonstrate them when things get hard?

That’s what ValuesCrafting is here to answer.

I created this publication to bridge the gap between naming your values and living them. It’s for people who want to align their daily actions with what matters most—and for those in influential roles who need to guide others to do the same.

This is especially true for managers, helping professionals, and HR leaders. Telling someone to “be more respectful” or “show empathy” isn’t enough. We need to provide examples, establish expectations, and outline specific behaviors.

That’s what ValuesCrafting offers—week after week.

Why Subscribe?

If you want your life and leadership to reflect your values—not just in theory but in practice—you’re in the right place.

Each Wednesday, I’ll share actionable strategies rooted in decades of experience. You’ll get practical examples of people living out their values in real work and life situations.

Because ValuesCrafting isn’t about lofty ideals. It’s about showing up every day in ways that feel true, that build trust, and that shape culture—one moment, one decision, one conversation at a time.

This is why I am offering ValuesCrafting to you now.

Subscribe now

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to  ValuesCrafting, a publication for people who want to align their actions with what matters most. Thank you so much for being here. We truly appreciate your interest. Susan

See the deeply held foundational values, beliefs, and principles that underlie the information and approaches recommended on ValuesCrafting and at the website SusanHeathfield.com.

• We are all equal in the workplace. We have different jobs and callings and are challenged to add value daily, no matter our role.

• We operate from our own value system, profoundly affecting everything we do or say. Thus, it is crucial to identify and live our values.

• Employees/co-owners are your most important assets. Organizations you influence should appreciate employees and act out of a genuine belief that employees and customers matter the most.

• Trust and respect each colleague. They will most frequently live up to the trust you accord them, in keeping with your high expectations for their performance–and their own. Trust–but verify if necessary–so that employees who lack integrity are dealt with quickly–before they affect the commitment and engagement of the rest.

• Hire employees who are passionate and accountable about serving customers and each other. Customers are the reason your organization exists. Decisions are made not because employees consider them convenient but because they serve customers most effectively.

• Your employees are grown-ups. Treat them like the thinking, choosing, life-living adults they are. Adults don’t need close supervision or a manager who tells them what to do. They don’t need a mother. They need colleagues, friends, and organizational leaders.

• Employees must be involved. Don’t ever expect a colleague to support, with 100% of their energy and passion, any process, decision, or approach they were not part of creating if it affected their job.

• Work is most congruent with our needs and values when our contribution fulfills our personal mission and vision. Identifying and living a personal mission and vision is key to this balance.

• True diversity will rock your workplace. We are not referring to artificial appreciation, politically correct (PC) statements, or mandatory programs about race, color, or creed. Demonstrate genuine appreciation for and integrate the wide variety of talents, skills, backgrounds, experiences, generational differences, and beliefs that employees bring to your workplace.

• Develop with colleagues and share widely the mission and vision. Employees want to be part of something that is bigger than themselves. They want to feel that their employer has an overall direction in which their work and contribution fit and matter. Share the mission and vision in a conversation with each employee to identify their fit into the broader work of other employees. When organizations hold these conversations, magical partnerships ensue.

• Make company operations transparent to employees. Share successes, failures, challenges, financial results, goals, prospects, customer interaction, benefits cost and review, competitive environment, industry prospects, financial outlook, and all aspects of a company’s operation so people can be accountable.

• Managers are an organization's most powerful force for good–or ill. They must know how to interact with people in ways that empower, enable, and reinforce positive power in their work environment.

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