By Lawrence Clinton, COO, Castor Vali
At Castor Vali, we often talk about trust, integrity, and doing the right thing (even when it’s difficult, or when no one is looking). These aren’t just words on a wall; they are the building blocks our founders laid in 2011 and the pillars that support our operations today, and have enabled our strong reputation across diverse jurisdictions and sectors.
As COO, with responsibility for HR and Compliance, I see first-hand how a strong internal culture underpins compliance and external credibility. A culture that encourages transparency, speaking up, and ethical behaviour isn’t just good for our people, it’s essential for delivering consistent, trustworthy services to our clients, and building long-term, values-aligned relationships with our suppliers and stakeholders. At the heart of our compliance model is a ‘Speak-Up Culture’, where every voice matters, and where any concerns can be raised safely, constructively, and confidently.
Why a ‘Speak-Up’ Culture Matters
In a complex, multi-jurisdictional organisation like Castor Vali, working across different legal frameworks, cultures, and environments, the risk of silence is often overlooked, so it remains a hidden threat. Issues left unspoken can become blind spots for organisations, and minor concerns can evolve into significant risks. Most importantly, when concerns aren’t shared, it becomes harder to build the mutual trust and openness that healthy teams rely on.
When people feel unable to speak up, it can also lead to the formation of silos, where teams or regions operate in isolation, hesitant to challenge decisions or share concerns. These silos undermine collaboration, reduce transparency, and ultimately impact the consistency of our services. A culture that prioritises open dialogue, cross-functional learning, and accountability helps us break down these barriers, drive performance, and better serve our clients, no matter where we are operating.
A Speak-Up Culture is a risk mitigator, a performance enhancer, and a key pillar of the trust our clients and partners place in us. In short, it is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.
Embedding Ethics into Our Compliance Model
A strong compliance model isn’t built on fear or enforcement. It’s built on ethical behaviour aligned with clarity, consistency, and accountability. At Castor Vali, we’ve intentionally embedded these principles into our operational systems, policies, and client commitments:
- Clear Reporting Channels: Our teams know how, when, and where to report concerns confidentially and without fear of retaliation. This includes informal options and structured processes through our Whistleblowing Policy. This policy is also accessible on our website for external stakeholders.
- Local Accessibility: Across our regions, we adapt reporting tools and training to reflect cultural and legal differences. This ensures that integrity isn’t just a head office principle; it’s lived company-wide.
- Consistent Follow-Through: Every report is taken seriously. We act with fairness, discretion, and a focus on learning and continuous improvement – not blame.
- Leadership Accountability: Our managers are trained to model ethical behaviour, respond to concerns appropriately, and ensure our standards are consistently upheld. That’s not just about protecting Castor Vali internally, it’s about safeguarding the trust our clients place in us.
These principles and processes do not just protect our business; they ensure the services we deliver are safe, ethical, and resilient, and that our clients and partners can rely on what we say and what we do as a trusted partner.
Our Values in Action
Our company values, co-created by our people, underpin this approach:
- Safety First means protecting both physical and psychological safety. This creates an environment where people can speak up with confidence, and where our clients and stakeholders know we operate with care and control.
- Empowered by Trust reminds us that integrity is earned daily, by how we listen, how we respond, and how we deliver on our commitments, even under pressure.
- Strength Through Unity ensures alignment and collaboration across functions and geographies, so our teams remain coordinated, and our clients experience Castor Vali as one unified partner, not fragmented units.
- Passion for Excellence drives us to continually raise our standards, not just for ourselves, but for those who depend on us. Speaking up is one way we ensure excellence doesn’t slip through the cracks.
A Call to Action
Creating a Speak-Up Culture isn’t just about policies; it’s about people and protecting what matters. This approach ensures that our clients get the best of us, that our suppliers know we operate with integrity, and that our people feel proud to work in a company where doing the right thing is expected, supported, and rewarded.
At Castor Vali, everyone’s voice matters. If you are reading this, you are probably linked to us in some way. If something doesn’t feel right, say something. If you see someone struggling, check in. If you hear a concern, don’t ignore it; address it. These small actions, repeated consistently, build the kind of ethical, high-performing culture that earns trust, sustains partnerships, and delivers lasting impact.
At Castor Vali, doing the right thing isn’t exceptional; it’s the baseline standard. Our values don’t just live on paper; they live in all who work here and are embedded into how we interact with others every day.
To hear more of Lawrence Clinton’s perspectives on leadership, overcoming challenges, and how Castor Vali empowers teams to succeed, tune to his episodes on the how they lead podcast.