Values are already inside each of us. They are not who we think we should be, they are who we truly are, inside, today now. Identifying or naming your values is just a way to clarify what you really value as a person or a company, so you can express more of that.
Values are not just words, they are who we are, they are what we feel, and they can be extracted from your life's experience. (This is one area where a coach can be an invaluable tool to you.)
If something that is important to you (a value) is not being expressed it will show up as frustration or discord. You will feel like something is not right. You are either living your values or you are not.
Values help determine the rightness of our choices. I use my values as a compass to guide me, especially when I feel confused, and having doubts or when I have tough decisions to make. I look to my values (they are truly what matters most) to provide direction. In decision making I ask myself will this bring me closer to what I value or further away. Making choices based on our values leads to a much richer, fuller, more successful experience. It also helps us to examine poor choices through the lens of our values -- then we understand why some of our choices went wrong.
How do you determine your values?
Look back over your life’s experiences make a list of the things you will not stand for and the things that are most important to you. What are some of the best decisions you have made. Why did you make them? Look at some of the poor decisions you have made. I'll bet you were in violation of one or more of your values. You may find in retrospect that the "best" decisions you ever made are those that supported your values.
When I was in training for coaching, we did an exercise where we had to prioritize our top 10 values in order of importance to us. Then we had to rate how we were honoring those values on a scale of 1-10. 1 meaning never honoring them and 10 honoring it all the time.
What I learned was what my core values were the ones that were not up for negotiation.
Try this exercise: Think of three people you admire most.
What are the qualities you admire most in those people?
There is a gold mine of information about your values - try it.
How do you honor your VALUES in your business and your life?
Here is an example of how I honor my values in my business. Respect is of the utmost importance. Every one of my employees, vendors and customers, are treated with the utmost dignity and respect. This includes how we speak to one another, how we treat each other all the way down the line, to the dishwasher... especially the dishwasher.
One day I stumbled across my operations manager speaking harshly, actually berating a fellow employee in front of other co-workers. I had to pull the manager aside and be careful to restrain myself from not doing to him what I just caught him doing. I told him next time I saw him act disrespectfully to another person he was gone. This was not one of his values so he did it again. He no longer works for my company. It was not easy for me to honor this value - because it meant that I was going to have to run the company, something I did not want to do, until I hired a replacement. Looking back to that moment of truth, my actions sent a clear message to the other 50 people in our company that respect is vital and the owner of the company really does value us.
What are the benefits of honoring your values in your business?
When we honor our values in our workaday world we feel GREAT - more centered, balanced and fulfilled." This results in less risk of burnout and has an added benefit of heightening creativity!
Action step
If you don’t know what your core values are, hire a coach to help you identify and clarify them. Use this information to honor your values and you will benefit over and over again throughout your lifetime.
Steve Kennedy is a professionally trained and certified co-active coach with a passion for "The Game of Business." With over 25 years' experience in creating, building and managing a dozen successful businesses, Steve's ability to partner with clients and adapt to their culture has been key to his success. Steve understands the challenges people face in the business world. Steve just authored an exciting new book titled, 'Winning the Game of Business: The Entrepreneur's Quest for Ultimate Success'. To find out more about Steve visit: http://www.winningthegameofbusiness.com
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