Refreshing Values from Within: A Caregiver-Led Approach

When organizations talk about values, they often describe them as guiding principles. But for values to truly guide, they must be rooted in the voices and experiences of the people who live them every day. That belief has shaped a recent values refresh at Cleveland Clinic – the first such update the enterprise has initiated since 2018.

Rather than reinvent its identity, the organization saw an opportunity to reconnect with it, explains sociologist Danielle Sabo, PhD, Senior Project Manager in Cleveland Clinic’s Global Leadership & Learning Institute. What followed was an exhaustive effort designed to translate caregivers’ experiences into a clear, actionable foundation for the future.

From the beginning, the intent was clear. “We set out to uncover what is already true about who we are at our best and translate that into values that our caregivers could immediately recognize, trust and put into action,” Sabo says.

She notes that the initiative was closely tied to Cleveland Clinic’s broader cultural movement, The Power of Purpose, which was designed to reaffirm each caregiver’s personal connection to healthcare.

Capturing voices

Sabo says an internal 20-person team from the Caregiver Office, Marketing and Communications, the Patient Experience Office and the Strategy Office used a rigorous, data-driven approach to conduct hundreds of interviews, surveys and focus groups. The outreach was designed to engage clinical and nonclinical caregivers across different roles, specialties and locations.

The initiative was championed by Kelly Hancock, DNP, RN, NE-BC, FAAN, Executive Vice President, Chief Caregiver Officer and Chief Administrative Officer, who emphasized the importance of making the process caregiver-driven. Hancock encouraged the team to look beyond surface-level input and truly understand the lived experiences of caregivers across the organization.

“Renewing our values was something we felt strongly was needed,” Hancock says. “Our organization has grown and evolved over the past several years, and it felt like the right time to reflect that progress. But just as importantly, we wanted these values to be grounded in the voices of our caregivers and led by a team who knows our organization inside and out."

Over a six-month period, the team worked closely with executive leaders to gather and analyze more than 750,000 pieces of feedback that captured participants’ insights, motivations and feelings.

“We began by addressing our work culture and asking questions designed to reveal who our employees are when they are at their best,” Sabo explains. “When you listen to caregivers describe real moments – how they show up for patients and each other – you recognize patterns that are far more powerful than any single word.”

Several core themes emerged from the research and feedback:

• Compassion, purpose, humility and empathy in every interaction
• A strong sense of teamwork, excellence and a “team-of-teams” sense of collaboration
• A shared commitment to innovation, integrity and courage to help shape the future of healthcare

From insight to action

The research revealed thousands of ideas, which the team distilled into a focused set of meaningful, memorable maxims:

1. Serve with heart.
2. Succeed as one team.
3. Shape the future.

Hancock emphasizes that the project was developed and executed entirely in-house. “This highlights the depth of our organization’s internal expertise,” she says. “Our renewed values were shaped by our caregivers’ voices and honor their stories with the same level of care and compassion they bring to their patients and work every day.”

The new values were officially introduced by Cleveland Clinic CEO and President, Tom Mihaljevic, MD, during his annual State of the Clinic address in 2026. Since then, the principles have been purposefully infused into messaging and content across the organization.

“The real work involves embedding these tenants into how we lead, collaborate and make decisions,” Sabo says. “Values only matter if they’re revealed in everyday behaviors – and that’s where our focus lies.”

To support this goal, the project team developed a comprehensive integration strategy spanning communications, leadership development, performance alignment and storytelling. The plan involves emphasizing Cleveland Clinic’s values online and in digital media presentations, branding guidelines, educational resources, meeting materials and other caregiver-focused tools.

This approach ensures the values are not only visible, but also sustainable over time.

Lessons learned

For others seeking to create or refresh their organizational values, Sabo offers several practical lessons:

1. Listen at scale – and mean it. Broad engagement is critical, but it must be genuine. “Employees can quickly tell when feedback is performative,” she notes. “The scale of the input we solicited signaled that every voice matters.”
2. Look for patterns, not perfect phrasing. The goal is not to capture every sentence, but to identify consistent truths that reflect the shared experience.
3. Start with culture to get to values. Values are most powerful when they emerge from lived behavior, not abstract ideals.
4. Build or lead from within. Internal teams often have the context and credibility needed to translate feedback into meaningful outcomes. “By leading the work internally, we were able to ensure authenticity and strengthen ownership,” she adds.

“Ultimately, processes like these offer a clear reminder that the most powerful values are not declared from the top; they are discovered by talking to the people who live them every day,” Sabo says.