Dr. Waajida L. Small
CHRO
Trinity Wall Street
Episode 101
Unlock authentic culture: Focus on 'ways of being,' not just static values.
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleJuly 18, 2025 · 13:48
Thesis
“An authentic and inclusive organizational culture is built on 'ways of being'—how people genuinely act and serve—rather than static, potentially 'weaponized' values. This approach fosters a deeper connection to the organization's mission for all employees.”
Show notes
What happens to organizational values when leadership changes? At Trinity Wall Street, the answer was uncomfortable: the values stayed on the wall, but they started getting used as weapons. Dr. Waajida L. Small, the CHRO, calls it what it was — values that became "weaponized," deployed to judge behavior rather than guide it, producing sighs of resignation instead of genuine cultural alignment.
Her solution was to replace them entirely with a "Ways of Being" framework — a subtle but significant distinction. Values are static words with definitions. Ways of being describe how people actually show up, all the time, inside and outside the workplace. At Trinity, that meant framing the culture around principles like "giving the best of ourselves," "being in service to the community," and "bringing people together" — language that transcends the Episcopal context and speaks to the full workforce, regardless of individual faith.
Implementation took a full year: consultants, focus groups across every level, manager training, and visible leadership embodiment. The resistance was real — employees wanted to know if it would go into performance reviews, if there would be goals around it. The answer was yes, eventually. But Waajida's approach was to let the culture breathe first, to let people recognize themselves in it before it became an evaluative tool. The result: employees across every function — including the accounting clerk who never touches a community program — now understand how their work connects to Trinity's mission in the world.
- Why "values" become weaponized — and what "ways of being" does differently
- The implementation process: consultants, focus groups, and why it took a full year to do it right
- How Trinity built an inclusive culture in a faith-based organization without requiring religious alignment
- How to connect non-mission-facing roles (accounting, admin) to an organization's community impact
- Why personal values alignment — not just organizational values — is the foundation of effective leadership
This episode is brought to you by Previ — an employer network that saves employees thousands on the necessities they already pay for, at no cost to the company.
What you'll take away
- 1Replace rigid, sometimes 'weaponized' organizational values with a 'ways of being' framework that focuses on how people genuinely interact and contribute.
- 2Ensure all employees, regardless of their direct role, understand and connect their work to the organization's broader mission and community impact.
- 3Implement culture initiatives through a lengthy change management process involving consultants, focus groups, manager training, and visible leadership embodiment.
- 4Achieve inclusivity in faith-based organizations by emphasizing universal principles of service and giving the best of oneself, which transcend specific religious beliefs.
- 5Guide personal and team leadership by aligning with internal values and the desired impact, which naturally translates to positive organizational contributions.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Traditional 'values' can become 'weaponized' and dictatorial, leading to a sigh of resignation rather than genuine embodiment, making 'ways of being' a more effective cultural foundation.
- •Moving away from having a set of single-word values with definitions, as these often fail to capture the desired behaviors and genuine ethos of an organization.
In Dr.'s words
“Oftentimes values are associated with leadership. And in 2020, we had a transition in our senior leadership of the church. And so while the core values were there, like in most institutions, core values tend to become, I'll say, weaponized, if you will.”
Highlights a critical problem with how traditional values can be misused in organizations.
“The values are single words that sometimes are used to dictate a particular behavior. But with the ways of being, this is how we want people to be all of the time, regardless of whether or not they're in the workplace or outside of the workplace.”
Clearly articulates the fundamental difference and advantage of a 'ways of being' framework over traditional values.
“It was more of, this is different, help me understand, what does this mean? Are we going to be graded on these core values? Is it going to be in performance management? Are we going to— do we have to have specific goals around it?”
Illustrates the typical questions and resistance encountered during a significant cultural framework shift.
“You ask 99% of our organization why they want to work for Trinity, It is because of the work that Trinity does, the lives that Trinity changes with the services that they provide, with the grants that they provide.”
Emphasizes the powerful motivating factor of a strong, impactful organizational mission for employee engagement.
“However, when you look at the ways of being, giving the best of ourselves, being in service to the community, bringing people together, that work you do, we can't send out a grant, right, without you processing a piece of financial information.”
Demonstrates how 'ways of being' can connect seemingly indirect roles to the direct impact on the community.
“I would say that, or my advice would be, always look inside. Yes, we use the term values, but what do you personally value? What kind of impact that you want to have? Who do you want to be inside and outside of the workplace?”
Offers actionable advice on personal alignment and integrity as a foundation for effective leadership and work.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Traditional, static 'values' often fail to resonate with employees and can be used judgmentally, leading to a negative cultural perception.
- •Bridging the gap for employees in non-direct service roles (e.g., accounting) to see their direct contribution to a mission-driven organization's ultimate impact.
- •Managing the lengthy and iterative change management process required to shift deeply ingrained cultural concepts and mindsets within an organization.
- •Ensuring cultural inclusivity in a faith-based environment for a diverse workforce that may not share the same religious beliefs.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Dave has been in human resources since graduating from college
What's Your Career Journey?
Trinity adopted a Ways of Being framework to help strengthen its culture
Trinity Church's 'Ways of Being' Framework
Trinity developed and implemented a culture initiative that incorporated ways of being
The Process of Developing and Implementing Trinity's Culture Initiative
How do you balance creating a faith-based organizational culture while ensuring inclusivity
How do you balance creating a faith-based organizational culture while still
Vegeta, what impact has your culture initiative had on Trinity's mission
Trinity's 'Wonders of Being'
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
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