Values, core beliefs and personality are the deepest level of our personal programming. They are hard wired into us from such a young age, that they are what makes us all unique.
Your values are what are most important to us.
It is what gives our lives value and meaning. They inform how you spend time, your moral and ethical code, your sense of right and wrong. Yet most people are totally unaware of their personal values until they begin doing the personal development work. I like to think of it as being your guiding principles, your north star, your compass.
We all know how it feels to go against our values, even if we aren’t conscious about it. If you are put in a position that you feel compromised in, or take action that doesn’t sit right, it feels like a knot in your stomach, guilt even. When we honour our values, it feels like we are in flow.
Great leaders know their values and use them to guide them in making tough decisions, particularly in times of uncertainty or ambiguity.
You are unique and you will have values that guide you and act as a moral compass for how you live your life. Values discovery is actually one of my favourite parts of the coaching process. It’s as though the client reconnects with who they are and what’s important to them. They see the threads that weave throughout their lives and really ground them. It’s always a wonderful experience.
When you lead from your values, everything seems in flow and you feel present and connected. I know when I am in conflict with my values, it shows up as guilt, and I feel a moral or ethical rumbling. I think it might be my conscience trying to talk to me.
Before I understood my values, I would find myself doing things to please others or to fit in, often beating myself up afterwards or justifying my behaviour. Now, they inform everything I do, from being a scout leader, a coach, a friend or as the author of this book. I encourage, support and champion people to believe in themselves so they are a little braver. If I am not helping others in this way, I feel off-balance and off-key.