Change is inevitable in civil society leadership. Whether it’s responding to shifting political landscapes, scaling your organisation’s impact, or restructuring to meet new challenges. While change can create exciting new opportunities, it also brings risks. Without careful navigation, transformation can weaken an organisation’s mission, disrupt its culture, and erode stakeholder trust.
At times like these, leaders aren’t just managing change; they are safeguarding their organisation’s core purpose. Without a clear grounding in values, decision-making can become reactive rather than intentional. Leaders who fail to anchor their decisions in values may find that the very foundation of their organisation starts to erode, leading to unintended consequences such as mission drift, disengaged teams, and fractured stakeholder relationships.
This is where your core values compass comes in, not as a rigid set of rules, but as a dynamic tool to guide decision-making. The core values compass, according to Dr Mandeep Rai is the defining DNA of the organisation and refers to the guiding framework that aligns decisions with values and provides direction and purpose. But when change is on the horizon, how can leaders ensure they remain rooted in their values while adapting to new realities?
Safeguarding your mission and values during change
One of the biggest risks during periods of transformation is mission drift, where an organisation gradually moves away from its original purpose in pursuit of new opportunities. While adaptability is crucial, leaders must ensure that change enhances, rather than dilutes, their mission.
Mission drift often happens when an organisation is faced with external pressures or enticing opportunities that seem beneficial in the short term but may lead to misalignment with its long-term purpose. For example, a charity focused on grassroots community work might be offered a large corporate funding opportunity that requires them to shift their focus towards a different beneficiary group. While the financial incentive may be significant, such a shift could alienate existing stakeholders and ultimately undermine the organisation’s credibility.
Practical ways to stay grounded in values:
- Use a decision-making framework: ethical decision-making models – such as stakeholder mapping, ethical risk assessments, or values-led impact analysis – help ensure that values remain at the forefront of strategic decisions. When faced with a difficult choice, ask: How does this align with our core purpose? What are the risks if we pursue this path? Who will be affected, and how?
- Build in checks and balances: internal governance structures – such as values-based leadership groups or advisory panels – can serve as sounding boards for decisions that carry ethical or reputational risks. This helps avoid decision-making in silos and ensures that different perspectives are considered before major changes are implemented.
- Communicate and reinforce core values: change management isn’t just about strategy; it’s about storytelling. Leaders who actively connect change initiatives to their organisation’s purpose are more likely to secure buy-in and maintain credibility. This means regularly engaging stakeholders, sharing the reasoning behind key decisions, and reinforcing how the organisation’s mission remains at the centre of transformation.
At its core, balancing change with organisational values requires intentionality, accountability, and trust. It’s not about resisting change, it’s about ensuring that growth strengthens, rather than undermines, the foundation of your work.
Key strategies for values-led leadership during change
Your core values compass doesn’t just guide what decisions you make, it also shapes how you lead through change.
Resistance to change is natural. Whether due to uncertainty, fear of the unknown, or past experiences, staff and stakeholders may react with hesitation. Leaders who acknowledge this and actively create an environment of psychological safety are more likely to foster successful transitions.
- Engage your team early and authentically: change shouldn’t be something that happens to people; it should happen with them. Circumstances and context can sometimes necessitate different approach, but where possible, leaders should strive to avoid making decisions behind closed doors. Instead, involving staff in shaping decisions – whether through consultations, working groups, or regular check-ins – ensures that they feel heard, valued, and invested in the organisation’s future.
- Lead with emotional intelligence: as Daniel Goleman defines it, emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage emotions – both your own and those of others. Leaders who recognise the emotional impact of change (e.g. anxiety or uncertainty) and provide support create stronger, more resilient teams. This could mean checking in with staff individually, acknowledging concerns openly, and ensuring that there are channels for honest feedback throughout the transition period.
- Maintain transparency: uncertainty breeds mistrust. Even if all the answers aren’t clear yet, communicating openly about what is known – and what is still evolving – helps prevent speculation and disengagement. Trust is built through honest dialogue, and being upfront about challenges, risks, and trade-offs allows staff and stakeholders to feel part of the process rather than left in the dark.
- Strengthen organisational culture: change can disrupt workplace culture, so it’s essential to reinforce shared values throughout the process. This might involve holding team discussions on what the organisation stands for, running workshops on managing change through a values lens, or simply making time for reflection on what remains constant even as the organisation evolves.
By focusing on inclusion, compassion, and trust, leaders can turn resistance into resilience, ensuring that change is a shared journey rather than a top-down directive.
Conclusion
Sustainable change isn’t just about new strategies or structures, it’s about ensuring that growth reinforces, rather than erodes, your mission.
Leaders who intentionally use their Core Values Compass can navigate transformation while safeguarding the integrity of their work. This means:
✨ Embedding ethical decision-making to prevent mission drift ✨ Engaging teams and stakeholders in shaping change ✨ Prioritising compassionate leadership to build trust and resilience
Change is complex, but by leading with integrity, transparency, and emotional intelligence, leaders can create transitions that not only serve their organisation’s mission but also strengthen its impact for the long term.
In the end, it’s not just what changes, it’s how you lead the transition that defines long-term success.
By shaping the future with purpose, civil society leaders can create organisations that evolve without losing sight of why they exist in the first place.
This blog was written by Atkinson HR, an ACEVO premium partner and values-led HR consultancy. We support charities and voluntary organisations with leadership recruitment, organisational change, learning, development, people policies and EDI, helping organisation navigate challenges and become even better employers – while staying true to their mission. Find out more.
Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash
