How can your personal values shape your social impact consulting work?

1 What are personal values?

Personal values are the beliefs, principles, and standards that guide your decisions and actions. They reflect what matters most to you, what motivates you, and what you stand for. Your values may be influenced by your background, culture, education, religion, or personal experiences. Some examples of personal values are honesty, compassion, justice, creativity, or excellence.

2 Why are personal values important for social impact consulting?

Personal values are essential for social impact consulting as they help to define your purpose and vision, build trust and rapport, and make ethical and responsible choices. Your values can guide you in clarifying why you chose to work in the social impact sector, what kind of impact you want to make, and what kind of projects and clients you want to work with. Furthermore, they can assist in communicating effectively and authentically with your clients and beneficiaries, as well as evaluating the potential benefits and risks of your interventions. Ultimately, personal values can help to ensure that you respect the rights, dignity, and interests of your clients and beneficiaries.

4 How to apply your personal values to your social impact consulting work?

Applying your personal values to your social impact consulting work means to align your work with your values, and to use your values as a guide for your actions. To do this, you should set goals and objectives that reflect your values, such as focusing on projects that address inequality if justice is one of your values. Additionally, you should choose clients and partners that share your vision and mission, and have a genuine commitment to social impact. If honesty is one of your values, you may want to work with clients and partners that are transparent and accountable. Lastly, when designing and delivering interventions, use methods that respect and empower clients and beneficiaries, while considering the environmental and social implications of the work. For example, if compassion is one of your values, you may want to use participatory and inclusive methods while providing constructive and empathetic feedback and support.

5 How to overcome challenges and dilemmas related to personal values?

Applying personal values to social impact consulting work can be complex and lead to challenges and dilemmas such as conflicting or compromising values, or even changing values. To overcome these, you must be aware and mindful of your values, flexible and adaptable to them, and respectful and dialogical when communicating with clients, beneficiaries, and colleagues. Monitor your values regularly, be open to different perspectives, accept that they can change, and seek feedback and dialogue. This will help you navigate the complexities of applying your own values to your work.