Change Your Values. Change Your Career!

I recently talked about a time when I changed my values and what happened when I did this.

I began to happily achieve in life.

The irony of this story is when I changed my values to what really mattered at the halfway point in life, I became more successful in my previous value that had been top of my list my whole career. Being successful!

Go figure??

I couldn't believe it and it remains one of the most powerful exercises on self-development I've ever done. I just realised that to happily achieve in life, I had to take a real look at my core values and rearrange them.

Love, Intimacy, Family, Relationships, Health, Well-being, Passion, Adventure and Fun all had to be top life values.

It was what I felt was really missing in my life and there was no way I was going into the 2nd half of life without them.

Your core values are the things in life that are the most important to you, your North Star. The principles or beliefs that you attach most meaning to.

When you clearly understand what your core values are, they provide a sense of direction and meaning.

How does this relate to my career??

Having a strong sense of your values can make it easier to make decisions, including those that are career related.

Knowing when to leave a job, when to change in an existing role, how you choose an employer, perception of company culture, and even interviewing or negotiating are all wrapped around your core values.

It's a fact and it is now widely accepted that people are happier and more fulfilled when their values align with their careers. If they don't it can be draining and gut-wrenching.

It can also hold you back from really flourishing and thriving.

An example I can give is if your core values are wrapped around compassion and empathy and the company culture doesn't demonstrate any of these. It becomes a real problem when you try to fit in with a company's true values, but those values don't align with yours.

I get it, so how can I identify my career values??

Most often we’re not clear about what our values are and we don't use our values to guide our career direction.?

So firstly we need to take time to check in with our values.

I don't think we do this enough and if you are struggling with identifying these values, try this:?

1. What are your top three absolute non-negotiable values at work: Connection? Community? Helping Others, Autonomy? Accountability, Teamwork? Growth? Learning?
2. From your list place them in order of the top three. You may need more time with this exercise to really think this through but once set, you stand by them.
3. After the top three place the rest of your values in order. No more than 6 otherwise they can be diluted. The values outside of the top three can be negotiable.

The reason for the values outside of the top three being negotiable is you have to adopt a 'growth' mindset which is having the ability to embrace change and not be too 'fixed' mindset that could make you too rigid.

Your values have to work for you not against you.

Remember companies can also change values if the culture or any change of leadership is more driven around a growth mindset, so some flexibility is crucial.

Do your values 'Add Value?

Once your values are set, ask yourself. Do they add value?

When I say 'add value', I mean contributing to your role and the company's mission.

I think this is really important and sometimes overlooked. If your top value is teamwork but you're not working within a team it's difficult to really add value.

If it's being part of a team or leading a team you have more chances to feel really aligned and connected to your job.

Thinking about whether your values will 'add value' will also help you when interviewing or going for that promotion or pay rise.

You will be in a better position to demonstrate your passion around your values and how they will add value to the organisation when you truly understand where you can apply them.

Win, Win!

Can My Values Change?

Values can change although I think they stay stable most of the time.

I see values changing depending on where people are at in life.

Early in a career, it's generally about progression and then family and other life priorities can change values. I also think people's quality of life is becoming a big reason why values can change.

How Can My Values Change My Career??

This isn't as hard as you think. We are seeing more and more of this in a post covid world.

You know your values; life and career. You know how your values can 'Add Value' and you also know your values may have changed.

You would now have gained more clarity and you can use this clarity to think about changes that you could make. Employers are also leaning much more toward the ethics of knowing your values, and knowing more about your personality than ever before.

Talking about this is perfectly normal whether with your current or new employer.

Changing a career can mean different things to all of us.

Going part-time, changing industries, stepping away from the corporate environment, joining a different size company, and trying a different role are all common examples people take.

The point here is once you can have gained clarity from understanding your values, you can begin to happily achieve through making career decisions that now feel right for you.

As always any comments and feedback are appreciated along with sharing across your networks. ??

My book 'You're fired You're Hired' is available on Amazon.

Check out the latest 5-star review:

I found this book easy to read, very motivational and full of practical advice. The tone of the book really appealed to me - friendly, and realistic but inspiring at the same time. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who is in-between jobs or, actually, just anyone who knows that there is more out there for them.

Speak Soon

Justin

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