Values to Behaviors Translator: Turn Each Value Into Things You Can See

Your values are on the wall, and your managers still cannot say what they look like on a Tuesday. This worksheet turns each value into things people can see, reward and hire for.

Gallup reports that about 2 in 10 employees strongly agree their coworkers are committed to the organization’s cultural values, and about 2 in 10 strongly agree their manager explains how those values affect their work (gallup.com, read 2026-11-08).

What you get

• Four boxes per value: what we say, what we do, what we reward, what we tolerate.
• The camera test: a simple way to swap vague words for things you can see.
• A finished example for a made-up company, so you can copy the style.
• Three blank worksheets in the PDF, and five in the editable Word copy.
• For each value: three observable behaviors, one hiring question, one promotion test.
• A 5 minute script for explaining a value to your team.

How it works

1. Pick one value.
2. Fill the four boxes.
3. Write three behaviors you can see, then add a hiring question and a promotion test.

Who it is for

Managers, founders and HR leads who want values people can actually use.

Formats and requirements

PDF (letter size, print safe) and a Word .docx you can edit. Works in Word, Google Docs or any PDF reader. No macros.

What it is not

It is a template and reference, not legal advice. Prepared by McKinley Malbrough III, J.D., who is not a licensed attorney. Parts were drafted with AI assistance and then reviewed and edited by the author. Licensed for use inside your own organization. Please do not resell or share the file.

Digital products: no refunds once downloaded. A corrupted, incomplete or not-as-described file reported within 14 days of purchase is replaced or refunded in full.

These are general HR tools, not legal advice. For a situation with legal stakes, talk with an employment attorney.