Your values ​​can be compromised when you are stressed. Here's how to line them up again.

The opinions expressed by entrepreneurs contributors are their own.

In times of high pressure, ambitious core values ​​can seem totally unachievable. Who has time to be 'bold', 'innovative' or 'connected' when beset by a deluge of emails and threatened by volatility or disruption?

In these situations, values ​​are relegated to vinyl stickers on an office wall or hidden words on a website's About Us page. How many people can remember their company values, let alone use them as a model for decision-making and the basis for team alignment and trust?

Related: Want to Succeed? Define your company values

How Workplace Values ​​Emerge

Values ​​are what's important. Whether you can articulate them clearly or not, you have values. Your company has values ​​and they are set by the management team, not the marketing team.

Leadership values ​​shape employee behavior. If leaders value financial performance above all else, employee well-being, environmental impact, or social connectedness may be overlooked. Values ​​contagion is a real phenomenon, and no training initiative will change your culture if leadership values ​​are misaligned or inconsistent. Employees roll their eyes at what they perceive to be false corporate values ​​when leaders don't follow through.

Values ​​in distress

Distress occurs when there is a misalignment of values. For example, imagine working late at night and sacrificing family time. If a core value is family, you will begin to resent work. Or maybe you're spending too much time caring for your family when productivity is a core value. Then you might resent your family. There is no right or wrong; your values ​​profile is quite unique.

In the journey of life, the goal is your North Star and the values ​​are the flame that lights your way. The terrain can be challenging, but knowing what's important and acting in alignment reduces ambiguity and increases fulfillment. You will have a reason "why" and a torch to guide your "how". If the flame of your values ​​goes out, you and your team may feel lost. In an environment of uncertainty, we activate ancient survival mechanisms, including our negativity bias, to keep us safe.

Are values ​​purely cognitive?

The missing link in the alignment of values ​​is our physiological state. In times of distress, threat or unease, our values ​​shift from aspiration and collaboration to primacy and protection.

There is an old part of the brain called the amygdala. It analyzes information that comes in through our senses and triggers strong emotions to help protect us from perceived threats. It can save our life if a lion roams the office. It saved the lives of our ancestors who navigated harsh environments where direct threats to survival were the norm. Fast forward to modern life, where inboxes are overflowing, amplified by performance pressure and conflicting demands. We are our own worst enemies, because to manage complexity we must be calm, present and energetic. Yet we sleep less and worry more than ever.

The flame of our values ​​is reduced to embers under chronic distress. Our window of tolerance is shrinking. We become a less human version of ourselves. Driven by basic survival emotions such as anger, sadness, fear, envy or disgust, the potential for creativity and collaboration is impaired. Our values ​​boil down to surviving rather than thriving.

Related: A Set of Core Values ​​Is What Makes Company Culture Happen

Find your base of calm

Lead based on values...