How can you identify a client's core values?

1 Ask open-ended questions

To identify your clients' core values, you can ask them open-ended questions that elicit their thoughts, feelings, and preferences. For example, inquire about what makes them happy or frustrated, what they admire or respect in others, what they are proud of or grateful for, and what they want to achieve in their career. Listen attentively to your clients' answers and look for patterns, themes, or keywords that indicate their core values. If needed, you can also ask follow-up questions to probe deeper or clarify their responses. This is a simple and effective way to uncover your clients' core values.

2 Use a values assessment tool

Another way to identify your clients' core values is to use a values assessment tool that provides a list of common values and asks them to rank or rate them according to their importance. There are many online tools and resources that you can use, such as the Values in Action Inventory, the Personal Values Assessment, or the Career Values Card Sort. You can also create your own tool or customize an existing one to suit your clients' needs and preferences. Using a values assessment tool can help your clients narrow down their options, compare their values, and prioritize their top values.

3 Explore their life stories

Identifying your clients' core values can be done by exploring their life stories and experiences that shaped their identity and worldview. Ask your clients to share some of the most memorable moments in their personal or professional lives and how they influenced their values. You can inquire about the challenges or obstacles they faced, the achievements or successes they celebrated, the people or role models that inspired them, the lessons or insights they learned, and the changes or transitions they made. As your clients tell their stories, pay attention to their emotions, motivations, and choices that reveal their core values. Also, ask them to reflect on how their values have evolved over time and what factors contributed to those changes.

4 Validate and verify their core values

Once you have identified your clients' core values, it's important to validate and verify them to ensure that they are authentic and accurate. To do this, you can ask your clients to confirm or revise their values based on their feedback and evidence. For example, you can inquire about how confident they are with their core values, how consistent they are with their actions and behaviors, how relevant they are to the goals and aspirations of the client, and how flexible or adaptable the values are to different situations and contexts. Additionally, you can ask about how supportive or challenging the core values are to the growth and development of the client. By validating and verifying your clients' core values, you can help them prevent confusion, conflict, or compromise that may arise from unclear, conflicting, or imposed values. You can also enable them to embrace and express their core values with confidence and clarity.

5 Apply and integrate their core values

The final step in identifying your clients' core values is to apply and integrate them into their career development plan and practice. To do this, you can help your clients translate their core values into actionable steps and strategies that support their career vision. This could include defining a career purpose and mission, setting goals and objectives that align with their core values, choosing a career path that matches their core values, developing skills and competencies that reflect their core values, and evaluating their career progress and performance based on their core values. By applying and integrating your clients' core values, they can gain greater satisfaction, fulfillment, and success in their careers. Additionally, it can help them create a positive impact and legacy that honors their core values.