When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.
– Roy E. Disney
Alex’s Story
Meet Alex, a determined professional who cherished both family and professional excellence. His dedication to career success often meant long hours at the office, missing family dinners, and special moments with his children. Although accolades adorned his career, an undeniable strain seeped into his family life. The conflict between his ambition for excellence and his commitment to being present for his family left him feeling torn. The subtle ache of missing bedtime stories and school events grew more painful. The looming burnout wasn’t just a result of overwork; it stemmed from the tension and turmoil of balancing these cherished yet conflicting personal values. The challenge for Alex wasn’t about choosing one over the other but finding a way to weave professional excellence with family time, without losing the essence of either.
We each have our own unique personal values and sometimes, like in the case of Alex, they are not so easy to balance. Bringing awareness to what those personal values are, helps us to understand how best to devote time and energy to the things that matter most to us.
What are Personal Values?
Just as roots anchor a tree and provide sustenance, our values form the core foundation of our being. They firmly
ground us in our authentic beliefs and principles, acting as the unseen yet essential support system. Like the leaves that emerge from the branches, our observable behaviours are the outward manifestations of these deeply rooted values, visible for all to see. In the same way a tree thrives when its roots are healthy and nourished, our actions flourish when aligned with our core values. These values are often cultivated over time through experiences, upbringing, cultural influences, and personal reflections.
Our team member Mali shares one of her personal values, Respect:
Respect guides how I collaborate, valuing everyone’s perspective and input. It means communicating with empathy, aiming to empower others. For instance, in team projects, I prioritize open communication and seek diverse perspectives, creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels respected and valued.
When our actions align with our personal values, a profound sense of authenticity and purpose emerges. Living in alignment with these values imbues our choices and endeavours with meaning, fostering a deep sense of fulfillment and contentment. It leads to a heightened sense of self-awareness, clearer decision-making, and the cultivation of meaningful relationships. Conversely, when we stray from our values, there’s a dissonance that pervades our lives. We might experience a sense of emptiness, dissatisfaction, and inner conflict, as our actions clash with our inherent beliefs. This misalignment can lead to stress, a lack of fulfillment, and a feeling of being adrift, ultimately impacting our overall well-being and happiness. Sometimes different personal values support each other and sometimes they create tension with each other as described by Alex’s experience.
How to Identify Your Personal Values
Identifying our personal values involves introspection and reflection on what matters most to us. It asks us to go beneath the surface and dig deep into what lights us up. Start by recalling moments of deep satisfaction or fulfillment in various aspects of life, noting what principles were at play during those times. Consider qualities you admire in others or causes you feel passionate about. Pay attention to emotions—what makes you proud and joyful, what lights you up.
Notice your habits – they can often be clues to your values too. For example, if one of your personal values is creativity, you might set aside dedicated periods in the day for brainstorming ideas, engage in activities that stimulate imagination like painting or writing, or even join creative workshops to foster and prioritize this aspect of self-expression. If compassion is one of your personal values, your actions might prioritize understanding, kindness, and empathy. This could mean volunteering, actively seeking diverse perspectives, or practicing daily acts of kindness.
Another strategy is to think about situations where you felt dissatisfaction, anger, or hurt. Ask yourself what specific actions or behaviours triggered those emotions. This can serve as a reverse method to uncover personal values that might have been disregarded or violated. For instance, if you felt disrespected, betrayed, or frustrated, consider which values might have been compromised—perhaps honesty, trust, or fairness.
Personal Values at Work
Understanding our personal values is crucial in the workplace. When leaders and employees are cognizant of their personal values and can align their actions with them, a cohesive organizational culture emerges. Identifying your own personal values is only the first step – the next is understanding the core values of others. It promotes empathy, effective communication, and meaningful collaboration. When you grasp the values that drive your colleagues, it enables you to respect their perspectives, motivations, and priorities. This understanding lays the groundwork for building trust, enhancing teamwork, and resolving conflicts more constructively.
Our 1-DEGREE/Shift Culture Code is a collection of our shared personal values – six core values that act as guiding principles we embody in our work with each other and with our partners. One of these shared personal values is well-being. Here’s how we define it:
How we live into our value of well-being:
- Connection Before Content – a personal check-in at the start of every meeting to facilitate connection and to
keep us from being transactional. - Weekly Lunch n’ Laugh – a time for us to gather and fuel our positivity.
- Individual Leadership Development Plans— we are committed to sharing our progress and supporting one another by checking in on them collectively.
These are practices embedded in how we work together. Nurturing this shared value enables us to take care of one another, support our development and growth paths, and keeps our cups full.
Personal Values in Leadership
Self-awareness about personal values is especially important for leaders. When leaders act against their values, they risk being perceived as inauthentic, causing a fragmented work culture and reduced unity. Hiding certain aspects of our personal lives or values is one way that people react when they feel the environment is lacking safety but more hiding or covering leads to less authenticity which somehow supports the notion that it isn’t safe to share too much.
Picture a high-stakes strategy meeting led by a manager known for advocating teamwork and collaboration. However, during the session, this manager consistently dominates conversations, dismissing others’ input without consideration. The team, valuing inclusivity and cooperation, gradually becomes disengaged, exchanging puzzled glances as the manager’s behaviour starkly contradicts their proclaimed personal values. The atmosphere shifts, and team members hesitate to contribute, feeling their perspectives aren’t valued. Trust is eroded because the manager’s words and actions are not aligned. This is a lack of integrity.
Conclusion
Awareness of personal values is not merely an abstract exercise; it’s a practical tool that shapes our personal and professional lives. Living into your personal values at work is crucial because it aligns your actions and decisions with your authentic self. When you can be your real self at work, it makes authenticity and purpose-driven actions the norm. A cohesive, values-driven work culture is cultivated that fuels collective success. Keen on nurturing this transformative culture? Let’s collaborate to explore how harnessing personal values can elevate your workplace. Connect with us!
