What are the best ways to help clients align their careers with their values and passions?

1 Identify their core values

The first step is to help your clients identify their core values, which are the principles that guide their decisions and actions. You can use various tools and exercises, such as value cards, value lists, or value stories, to help your clients clarify what matters most to them. For example, you can ask your clients to rank a set of values according to their importance, or to share a story of a time when they felt aligned or misaligned with their values. By identifying their core values, your clients can gain more insight into what motivates them, what gives them joy, and what conflicts with their sense of integrity.

2 Discover their passions and strengths

The next step is to help your clients discover their passions and strengths, which are the activities and skills that they enjoy and excel at. You can use various tools and exercises, such as passion tests, strength assessments, or skill inventories, to help your clients uncover what they love to do and what they are good at. For example, you can ask your clients to list the things that they are curious about, that they lose track of time doing, or that they would do even if they were not paid. By discovering their passions and strengths, your clients can gain more insight into what energizes them, what challenges them, and what makes them unique.

4 Align their career choices

The fourth step is to help your clients align their career choices, which are the decisions and actions that they take to pursue their values and passions. You can use various tools and exercises, such as decision matrices, action plans, or accountability partners, to help your clients make and implement their career choices. For example, you can ask your clients to use a decision matrix to weigh the pros and cons of different career options, or to create an action plan that outlines the specific steps and deadlines to achieve their career objectives, or to find an accountability partner who can support and monitor their progress. By aligning their career choices, your clients can gain more confidence, motivation, and satisfaction in their work.

5 Review and adjust their career alignment

The fifth step is to help your clients review and adjust their career alignment, which are the processes and feedback that they use to monitor and improve their career satisfaction. You can use various tools and exercises, such as satisfaction scales, reflection questions, or feedback surveys, to help your clients assess and enhance their career alignment. For example, you can ask your clients to rate their satisfaction with different aspects of their work, such as the tasks, the environment, the relationships, or the impact, or to reflect on the challenges, successes, and learnings that they experienced in their work, or to solicit feedback from their colleagues, managers, or clients on their performance and improvement areas. By reviewing and adjusting their career alignment, your clients can gain more awareness, learning, and growth in their work.

6 Celebrate and appreciate their career alignment

The sixth step is to help your clients celebrate and appreciate their career alignment, which are the emotions and expressions that they use to acknowledge and enjoy their career satisfaction. You can use various tools and exercises, such as gratitude journals, recognition cards, or celebration events, to help your clients appreciate and share their career alignment. For example, you can ask your clients to write down the things that they are grateful for in their work, such as the opportunities, the achievements, or the people, or to send recognition cards to the people who helped them in their work, such as the mentors, the peers, or the customers, or to organize a celebration event to mark a milestone or a success in their work. By celebrating and appreciating their career alignment, your clients can gain more happiness, pride, and connection in their work.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?