The benefits are clear, a strong corporate culture increases productivity, stimulates higher levels of innovation, reduces turnover rates, enhances employee engagement, and increases communication levels between management and employees. But what if you realize that your company culture isn’t a fit for you?

In our book, Time To Get Real!, we ask you to consider the company you work for and any organizations for which you volunteer. It doesn’t matter if you are working for compensation or freely giving of your time and effort in a volunteer activity, work is work. Whether it is a business, government, or nonprofit organization, a mission or purpose, values, and culture will exist within that organization. Aligning yourself with your organization, whether receiving compensation or not, is important for your own personal comfort and commitment.

Look at the mission of the organization for whom you work or volunteer. Does the organization's mission help to maximize your strengths while providing development opportunities? Does the mission conflict in any way with your own purpose or is it complimentary? Research has shown that when people match their personal values to the values of the company, employees are happier and more engaged. In addition, mission and values alignment is a quality that is common to high-performance organizations.

Corporate values represent the guiding principles of the organization’s culture. These values shape the culture of the company, which is represented by consistent, observable patterns of behavior in organizations. It is “the story” that is embedded in the people of the organization and that story is reinforced by the values and rituals seen every day.

For example, some organizations might focus on teamwork as a value. But, if staff members are highly competitive, don’t share information, or support one another on team projects, it’s easy to discern lip service is being given to this value. In other organizations, a value might be the development of human resources. That organization might have a substantial number of training programs, provide rotational assignments, and have a tuition reimbursement policy. The values and company behavior alignment are more easily seen here.

What Do You Do If Your Values Don’t Align?

Think about this for your own situation and organization. Just as there is no perfect life, there is no perfect job. We are quite fortunate when we can get 80% of what we want in our workplace, and this, in turn, gives us the strength to handle the other 20%. If in your case you have a good match with your company on mission, values, and culture, see if you can get what you want where you are by tweaking one or two things to make it more comfortable for you.

However, if you are in a state of conflict and you are uncomfortable in your workplace, then have the courage to make the move you need to make to achieve your life and career goals.

Knowing now what you know about the importance of the right corporate culture, how can you make sure you make the correct decision? When interviewing for a new role, here are some questions you can ask, according to this article on The Muse website, to help you assess the culture of the corporation.

“Five questions you can ask to get a better sense of company values and employee engagement:

1. What makes you proud to work at this company?

2. How does the organization support your professional development and career growth?

3. Is risk-taking encouraged, and what happens when people fail?

4. What role do company values play in hiring and performance reviews?

5. What’s one thing you would change about the company if you could?

Five questions you can ask to gain a clearer understanding of conflict and politics at a given company:

1. What causes conflict, and how is conflict resolved?

2. How would you describe “organizational politics” at the company?

3. How are decisions made when there’s disagreement and stakes are high?

4. When and how do people like to give and receive feedback?

5. Titles aside, who in the organization has the power to get things done?

Five questions you can ask to gain more insight into the work environment:

1. What are some of the ways the company celebrates success?

2. How do you as a manager—or, if more appropriate, how does your manager—support and motivate your team?

3. What kind of flexible work arrangements do people have?

4. Do you have a matching gifts program or sponsor local volunteer events?

5. If you have a specific need, ask about it. For example, “I take my kids to school on Wednesdays, is it OK if I come in late once a week?” (Note: Save a question like this for a final interview. If it’s the very first question you ask—before questions like these—it could count against you.)

While the only way to know what a company is really like is to experience it firsthand, investing time upfront and learning as much as you can will help minimize surprises.”

If you would like more information about Organization Mission, Values, and Culture, we recommend reading chapter eight of our book Time To Get Real! Having an intentional approach to matching your personal values with the values of your organization is one component of the Life and Career Planning Model© featured in the book. This model is the framework for developing your own life and career plan. Should you choose to create your own plan, we suggest that you consider some personal coaching that can help you discern and activate your life’s mission and move you toward the best life and career you deserve. Our coaching fees and services are flexible and meet a broad array of client financial and coaching needs. All Life and Career Planning LLC coaches are experienced and certified in the Life and Career Planning Model© and serve as your accountability partner. To inquire about working with a coach, click here.