Operationalizing Values

A framework from Anavo Strategies

Operationalizing Values is a framework Anavo Strategies uses to help organizations connect what they say they value to how they work day to day. It places values at the center of five connected layers: values, beliefs, commitments, behaviors, and accountability. Each layer makes the one inside it more concrete and easier to see.

Many organizations have values written down. The harder work is agreeing on what those values ask of people, and checking whether practice matches. This page offers the framework and a short set of questions for leadership teams, boards, and staff to work through together, whether during a values refresh, strategic planning, or annual reviews.

The framework at a glance

Read from the center outward. Values sit at the core, and each outer layer turns them into something more visible and easier to check.

Operationalizing Values framework: five nested circles with Values at the center, surrounded by Beliefs, Commitments, Behaviors, and Accountability.

The five layers and the questions they raise

Each layer has a short definition and three questions. The questions work best in conversation, one value at a time.

1. Values

Core principles that define who we are, unchanging and deeply rooted.

  • Which of our values would we hold to even when it costs us something?

  • Could a new team member explain what each value means here, in their own words?

  • Do any of our values overlap, or is something we care about missing?

2. Beliefs

Perspectives shaped by experience and knowledge, evolving with new understanding. Beliefs explain why a value matters to this organization, and they are the layer most open to revision.

  • What do we believe about our community, our work, or our people that makes this value important?

  • What have we learned recently that should change how we understand it?

  • Where do people across the organization hold different beliefs about the same value?

3. Commitments

Actions and promises that put our values and beliefs into practice. Commitments are where values connect to strategy.

  • What are we promising, and to whom?

  • Which commitments show up in our plans and budget, and which do not yet?

  • What would we stop doing if we took this commitment seriously?

4. Behaviors

Everyday actions that demonstrate how we live out our commitments. Behaviors are observable in meetings, decisions, hiring, and how people treat one another.

  • What would someone see us doing if we were living this value well?

  • What behaviors work against it, even unintentionally?

  • Do these behaviors look the same across teams and levels of the organization?

5. Accountability

Reflection and measurement to ensure alignment between values and actions. Accountability is how an organization notices gaps and decides what to do about them.

  • How will we know whether we are living this value?

  • Who is responsible for noticing when we are not, and is it safe to say so?

  • When we fall short, what happens next?

How organizations use it

The same five layers can support several kinds of work.

  • Shaping culture. Teams agree on shared language for what each value looks like in practice, often written as "We are [value] when we..." statements.

  • Strategy and annual planning. Commitments become a check on priorities: plans, budgets, and department goals should reflect what the organization has promised.

  • Goals and performance conversations. Behaviors become reflection prompts in reviews, alongside peer and manager feedback. For example: Which value did you embody most strongly this year? Where do you see room for growth?

  • Regular check-ins. Accountability questions give a retreat or annual review a consistent way to look back on what is working and where practice has drifted.

Where to start

A practical first step is to take one value through all five layers in a single working session. By the end, the group should be able to complete this sentence together:

"We are [value] when we..."

That one statement often shows where a value is well understood and where it still needs work.

Using this framework

We want this framework to be useful, so we share it openly. You are welcome to use it within your own organization, with your board or staff, in classrooms, and in nonprofit or community settings.

When you use it, we ask that you:

  • Credit the source. Include "Operationalizing Values framework, Anavo Strategies" and a link to this page wherever the framework or graphic appears.

  • Keep the graphic as it is. You may resize it, but please do not alter its content, remove the Anavo logo, or redraw it under another name.

  • Adapt the questions freely. You may reword or add questions to fit your organization, as long as the adapted version still credits Anavo Strategies.

  • Ask before using it commercially. If you plan to use the framework or graphic in paid consulting, training, or published materials, please contact us first.

The framework and graphic remain the property of Anavo Strategies.

About Anavo Strategies

Anavo Strategies works with mission-driven organizations on strategy, culture, and growth. To talk about using this framework with your team, get in touch.

Suggested citation: Fisher-Jackson, A. Operationalizing Values. Anavo Strategies, 2026.