In our coaching classes, we often address personal values. As a coach works with a client to identify the best way forward for the client, one of the challenges is helping the client discover what is really important for them as individuals. We are all pulled in different directions—challenges, responsibilities, relationships. What we should concentrate on and what gives us satisfaction can be frustrating. Robert Glazer suggests that this comes from “a misalignment between the roles expected of us and our core values.”
In the introduction to The Compass Within: A Little Story About the Values That Guide Us, Glazer writes, “When we succeed in aligning our lives with those values, we feel a sense of peace and enthusiasm, as if we were truly living our ideal lives. In contrast, the discomfort caused by a misalignment of values is deep and painful and rarely fades with time; and if it does fade, it’s usually due to self-abandonment, giving up on the belief that we will ever be able to forge a life in accordance with those values.
Glazer uses the familiar business narrative style to tell the story of Jaymie Hynes, a young man on the move who is coming to realize that some things just do need sync up in his life. The book outlines a process for identifying one’s values based both on deep personal reflection as well as behavioral application.
Three primary insights came to me from the book. For individuals, your most productive and satisfying life comes from living and working in alignment with your values. For leaders, you can’t lead other people effectively until you fully understand yourself. For organizations, the clear and honest discernment of core values provides an environment where participants with compatible values can thrive.
There are a number of resources available for identifying one’s core values, but I found this one both robust and motivating.
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