There's no seal in your photo, that is the valve guide. The seal just snaps onto the groove.
You can run OK without seals, it will burn a bit of oil that leaks down through the clearance between valve and guide. Many engines don't have seals on the exhaust valves, but the intakes are subjected to engine vacuum and will draw oil down so these should have good seals. Worn intake guides and bad seals will allow a fair bit of oil to enter the cylinder... you get blue smoke especially after engine braking