The Window on Work Values (WoWV) Profile helps individuals and teams understand what underlies their behaviour at work and how those values align or conflict with the culture, systems and expectations around them.
Grounded in validated research from Rokeach, Schwartz and Triandis, the WoWV provides a practical way to align individual values, team behaviour and organisational direction. It focuses not on how people prefer to work, but why they work the way they do, uncovering beliefs that shape their motivation, relationships and decision-making.
The WoWV profile explores eight distinct value types within a two-dimensional model: Self vs Group Focus and Organisational Constraint vs Freedom. The eight value types are: Individualism, Collectivism, Authority, Independence, Conformity, Equality, Empowerment and Compliance.
The WoWV helps teams and leaders:
- Turn abstract values into practical behaviours
- Navigate differences without conflict or confusion
- Align everyday actions with strategy, culture and purpose
Leaders see that no value exists in isolation. The WoWV model is structured in a circular format where adjacent values are complementary, and those opposite can create tension.
When to use the WoWV
Leadership alignment and strategy delivery
The WoWV is especially effective in executive team development, helping leaders align culture with strategic execution and lead change with greater self-awareness. The WoWV enables senior teams to examine how values influence strategic delivery, and where values are aligned or in tension. Leaders will gain a clearer picture of what drives them. It helps them:
- Understand their strongest values and how these values may be limiting
- Respond more effectively in situations where different values are needed
- Build flexibility in how they lead, by using the values as different lenses
The WoWV also provides a reflective framework for managing value-based discomfort. Leaders are coached to examine situations where their personal values might clash with organisational expectations. Instead of reacting instinctively, they can “borrow” value lenses from other parts of the model to guide behaviour.
Cultural alignment and organisational change
Many organisations promote one set of values, but reward another. This creates confusion, disengagement and inconsistency. The WoWV helps clarify what values are being maintained, what individuals and teams care about most, and how to bring messaging, systems and behaviours into alignment.
Team clarity and behaviour mapping
The WoWV helps teams co-create values-based rules of engagement and charters that reflect how they want to operate. An analysis of the collective values held by a team will show:
- How the mix of values they hold work together
- How those values might show up in day-to-day behaviour
- What practical steps they can take to express those values — even in constrained or high-pressure environments
Why values matter at work
Values don’t live in posters or handbooks, they show up in structures, incentives, policies and the way decisions are made. Teams often experience tension not because of personality differences, but because of unspoken values mismatches. When there is clarity and alignment, work flows more easily. When values are misaligned with how things are done, trust erodes, energy is wasted and delivery suffers.
Alignment does not require identical values. Research shows that sustainable alignment is achieved through understanding, knowing where values align, where they differ and what that means in context. Posner and Kouzes (The Leadership Challenge) found that leaders who are clear about their personal values are more effective at navigating difference, leading to stronger engagement and commitment.
The WoWV empowers leaders to make value-conscious decisions, recognising when to lead from their values, when to stretch beyond them, and how to navigate potential internal conflicts with intentionality and integrity.
Get started with WoWV
To access the WoWV you can enlist the services of one of our associates who are accredited in the profile, or you can become accredited to deliver a WoWV debrief yourself.
Through an Accredited Practitioner gain access to TMS Global, our product delivery platform and:
- Answer the WoWV Questionnaire
- Read your WoWV Profile report
- Attend a debrief with your Accredited Practitioner
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