Eight questions to help uncover your values
Clara Wilcox I Return To Work and Career Coach for Parents
Supporting parents (employees, freelancers & job seekers) and employers to create a career to enjoy through 1:1 coaching, mentoring, workshops & training I Staff Wellbeing I Retention I Employee Engagement
When you think of your life right now, is it what you expected? I’m not talking about the dreaded “where do you see yourself in five years” question (as I’m sure NO-ONE predicted 2020!). I’m talking about getting re-acquainted with your values; the things that really matter to you. Today I want you to consider your answer to the query “What do you want from your life, now?” I’m going to be asking you eight questions to help you uncover your values.
When I work with my clients, before we start looking at the career or work-life balance plans, we strip things back to basics. We unpeel all the years of expectations and projections of other people’s success measures, park the messages that have been chipping away at their self-esteem and confidence, and ask them to consider how their values are showing up in their life.
What are values?
We all have values; they ultimately are the things that are most important to us. They are the things that drive our decisions, influence how we show up in the world and guide our ethics. From where we work, where we spend our money, and how we spend our time, all can be traced back to your values.
They are a great barometer for understanding when things are right or wrong or just OK! When you find yourself at odds with other people, projects, or jobs, after a little investigation and reflection, you may see that your values don’t match. It can help you confidently say NO, so you can say YES to what matters!
Research has found that there are cultural differences with what is valued across counties; if you have ever studied abroad or worked across countries, you may have been offered cultural awareness courses. These values differences can still occur much closer to home! Many of my career change and job searching clients come to me as their current work situation doesn’t value what they do or they have differing views on the world!
What are your values?
For some people, starting coaching is the first time they have spent any time on their values. Many have experienced the HR led, strategic introduction of values as part of their employer’s plan for culture development, but they have never considered how those companywide values mesh with their personal ones.
Hopefully, this brief introduction has shown you why understanding your values is the first step in creating a career to enjoy. It’s your blueprint to life, and as Hopson and Scally say, " ... a mirror image of who we are at any moment”. Your life experiences can alter and craft your values, even though they are established in childhood. I know the highs, lows and challenges in life has tweaked my values; but understanding my core ones have helped me take leaps of faith, support difficult conversations, and keep me on track when things are unpredictable!
So, today, I want to start you off by thinking about what your values may be. Work through each of these questions, making sure you are honest with yourself!
- How do you measure and evidence success?
- What motivates you?
- How do you build trust with others?
- What do you find frustrating about others?
- What would make you walk away from a job?
- What would make you walk away from a relationship?
- What do you admire in others?
- What do you want to be remembered for?
Once you have these answers, it the beginning of getting clear about what matters to you. It can help you focus when you feel off-centre, help you stand firm with your boundaries and help you make the next right step personality and professionally. Unpicking your unconscious WHY can help you start to build a plan for WHAT NEXT? Every time a new challenge or decision comes up, you can see how they track against your values. You want to make sure that the only things that you spend time and energy on can represent your values as they are valuable to you! (And I’m not apologising for the pun!)
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I’m a straight-talking, practical and experienced coach helping clients navigate the tricky waters of returning to work, career changes and professional development. The Balance Collective is a social enterprise focused on improving the lives of parents, by working together to build inner confidence and promote a healthy work/life balance. Isn’t it time to you had a career to enjoy not endure?