I ask this question as I’ve been asking it myself recently. What are my current values, and have they changed since I started my working life? Well, yes they have. They’ve changed as I’ve changed. But why are they important? And how do you find out what they are? Discovering your values with a coach helps you understand why you do what you do and what you probably want to do or should be doing. It helps you to learn what you like doing and, importantly, what you don’t like doing. If your values and beliefs are in conflict with your environment, or the people you work with, you’ll find yourself experiencing discomfort, tension, stress even. And who wants to remain in that position? If you are feeling these emotions, then I bet you are wanting to ‘get out’ or ‘move on’, yes? How do I know this? It’s linked to my story and helped me to own my values to bring me to where I am now. In a nutshell, I learnt self awareness of what I wanted and what I did not want.
In my mid to late twenties I worked in the PR industry. I liked the work – writing, meeting clients, lunching in fabulous restaurants. But I remember I always felt uncomfortable about some of the messages I was being asked to promote. I was uncomfortable because those messages didn’t ring true for me. I didn’t understand at the time why this was, but I look back and it was because I didn’t believe in the messages. It didn’t feel genuine and by continuing to work in an environment where I wasn’t being true to myself led to unhappiness and ultimately a not particularly successful career in PR. By contrast, working for the BBC was much more successful and happy. I believed in what the BBC stood for. I shared its values, as they were my own – independence, integrity, impartiality, truth, and accuracy to name but a few. It made for a very positive, creative and exciting time in my career all because, I believe, my values were being met.
However, over time, people change and organisations change. My job was moving with Radio 5live to Salford. I wasn’t going to move as my family and support network were here in the Home Counties. It forced me to reassess my values. I decided I wanted to leave the BBC, I searched unsuccessfully at that time for an alternative position. However, I couldn’t find a company whose values were congruent to mine. This helped with the decision to work for myself. I worked with a coach to identify my new values. One which had become so strong, I couldn’t ignore it was the need to help women to make a change and transform their lives. This realisation started me on my path to becoming an Executive & Confidence coach. I job I love and thrive in.
If you’d like to identify what your values are in order to help you move forward, call me to find out how I can help you get to where you want to be – 07976 729 636.