Your Next Career Move: Know Your Values, Know Your Strengths, Know Success!

Understand What Values Drive You And You Will Grow As A Leader

Do you sometimes feel the strain of burnout, even when you are doing work that wouldn’t be considered by most to be a drag? You know, work performed behind your desk, utilizing some of your talents, work that typically results in you mastering your job and doing it well. Despite your “success”, you feel burned out, incomplete, and unsatisfied.

Now maybe that doesn’t totally describe you, but if something feels like it is missing in your work, your career, your life, please keep reading!

This doesn’t have to be a knock on your employer, work, or profession (or it could be). However, if any of what I have said so far resonates with you, your values are not likely in alignment with your work.

If you are a leader or emerging leader, it is really important for you to hear this message so those people you serve will benefit from the best version of you!

Values in Action

I worked through a coaching engagement with a senior government manager who felt very dissatisfied with their work. Let’s call them Pat. Pat was an accomplished professional, spending many years with their department. Pat put their heart and soul into their meaningful government work dealing with public policy issues involving disadvantaged segments of Americans.

Recently Pat’s work began to feel empty. Pat knew something was off, but initially chalked it up to short-term frustration with upper management decisions.

As I coached Pat, it was evident to me that through our sessions Pat’s values were no longer in alignment with their organization’s values. Work became more focused on policy instead of directly assisting those in need.

Pat worked with me to identify their strengths and values. Pat set values-based goals after doing the hard values work with me. Through our coaching sessions Pat came to understand values-based goals allow you to make progress towards living your best life!

Start With Identifying Your Values

It all begins with your values. Your values are your foundation. We all have core values and acquired values. To move towards your goals and life’s purpose with clarity, you need to identify your core values and find alignment in your work with these values. Only then will you be doing your best work, and serving others in the most authentic way possible as a leader.

How do you start? Well, if you are stuck with coming up with labels for your values, take a look at this list I share with clients as a way to get started. Come up with your top seven values either from this list and/or on your own. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eu7A_Pg0QhKgYM7dPoHG-WJha0A3krpGVIPuAC3-ULo/edit?usp=sharing

Narrow Down Your List

Now that you have seven values narrow it down to the top three you can’t live without—I know, it's hard! Once you do that, put your values list aside for later reference.

Values represent the most authentic version of ourselves—so embrace them!

Now, Think About The Best Of Times…

Think back to when you had some success or when you were in a state of flow, whether at work or in your personal life. What do you remember? What were you doing? What values were being honored during this time, during your flow?

When you think about these values that stood out in this example, how does it make you feel?

Pay attention to this. These are your values in action! Don’t be surprised if these values are different from the ones you listed earlier. These values in action could be the values that are missing from your professional and personal life.

Bring Your Strengths

You have identified your values, now understand how your strengths amplify your values. Identifying values and strengths will build meaning and help you identify new ways to use your strengths. Like most people, you probably have taken your strengths for granted. You might not even be conscious of your strengths!

There are several strengths survey tools online, many of which are free, which will help you identify your specific strengths.

Another approach that I highly recommend, and should be easy for you, is to ask friends, family, and/or work colleagues to identify your strengths. They sometimes know our strengths better than we do! I used this approach several years ago when I was at a career crossroads. These discussions led to me becoming a certified coach!

Know Values-Know Strengths-Know Success

You can now identify your core values and key strengths. Now what?

With this information, you can set values-based goals that will be the reflection of your best self. It might not make it easier to achieve these goals (or it might), but you will ensure you are pursuing your goals, that are in alignment with your values. When you pursue values-based goals you will also develop resilience that will carry you through the challenges of pursuing a difficult but rewarding path. This resiliency occurs when you pursue goals that are in alignment with your values and provide a sense of purpose.

This is why values work is so important!!

Values Work Brings Results

Pat has now transitioned to a new government job where Pat’s values feel as though they are being honored. Pat’s new organization’s values are in alignment with Pat’s values. When we work to identify our values and strengths, we are able to set values-based goals that lead us to discover opportunities we never could have possibly imagined. So where do you start so you can understand your values and strengths and work towards living your best life?