Podcast: Hiring for Your Why: Staying True to Your Core Values with Vaughn Thurman

In this episode, we’re talking about something every leader wrestles with how to hire not just for talent, but for fit. Leaders are often tempted to prioritize skills over alignment, yet the long-term health of an organization depends on hiring people who embody its mission, vision, and values.

Listen in as Mark is joined by Vaughn Thurman, CEO of HighGear Software, a leader who has built his company around a set of core values that have come to define the organization and everything it does. Vaughn’s journey reminds us that hiring decisions do more than impact the bottom line — they shape culture, influence engagement, and define how work is experienced every day.

About Our Guest: Vaughn Thurman

Vaughn Thurman is a technology leader and entrepreneur passionate about building organizations where people thrive, and mission drives performance. As CEO of HighGear Software, Vaughn leads a team dedicated to helping organizations simplify complexity and work with greater purpose and clarity.

Throughout his career, Vaughn has emphasized values-based leadership, particularly the importance of hiring and developing people who align with an organization’s mission, vision, and values. His experience building and scaling teams and shaping cultures has reinforced a critical truth: mission-aligned hiring is essential to long-term success and healthy workplaces.

Vaughn brings practical insight to conversations at the intersection of leadership, culture, and performance, encouraging leaders to remain faithful to their mission while building strong, empowered teams. Vaughn’s leadership journey includes the unique experience of building two radically different companies, teams, and cultures under one roof and of observing and learning from the unexpected operational, financial, and relational impacts of having one team built on principles while the other was built on a top-candidate opportunistic hiring strategy. But most importantly, Vaughn is a follower of Christ and is not ashamed to share the message.

1. Hiring Against Your MVV — Why It Costs You More Than You Think

Hiring individuals who do not align with your mission, vision, and values can quietly erode culture, weaken engagement, and undermine long-term performance. Vaughn shares lessons from building HighGear — from early hiring decisions to scaling a values-driven organization — and how staying true to core values shaped the company’s identity and success.

You will learn: Hiring for culture and values isn’t a “nice to have” — it’s a strategic and sustainable business decision.

2. Leadership Lessons from a Mission-Driven CEO

Vaughn’s path — from the Air Force to serial entrepreneur to CEO — offers valuable insight into leading with integrity and purpose. He discusses how core values such as honesty, discipline, and commitment to service influence decision-making, recruitment, and team development, especially when leaders face pressure to compromise.

You will learn: Leading people well requires intentional value alignment, beginning with how and why you hire.

3. Building High-Performing Teams by Empowering People

Vaughn’s work with no-code workflow tools reflects a deeper leadership principle: equip people to do meaningful work. He explores how this mindset shapes recruitment, training, and culture-building — moving organizations beyond transactional hiring toward transformational development.

You will learn: Work becomes a place of growth when people are seen as contributors to purpose, not cogs in a machine.

Concerned about your organization’s as-is HR programs? The benefits of having a trusted partner guide you and your team toward excellence are invaluable. Contact us today. You — and your employees — will be glad you did.

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Mark A. Griffin is President and Founder of IHN HR. Connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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