More about values

An earlier post on this blog attempted to define the term 'values' in this context (work/life fusion: values) but, what values relate best to career direction finding and decision making? The short answer is that people value different things. You could also say that people value things differently but that would be an argument for a bigger pedant than me. Sorry, than I.

Going beyond the short answer, if a number of individual answers are combined a list of the more popular values could be created. Lists like this can be found in a number of places on the web and elsewhere. Alternatively you could visit any number of company websites and find lists of values that are very similar indeed (honesty, integrity, teamwork, community and so on).

These lists and statements are great reading but do they help relate values to career decision making or are generic values confusing and difficult to apply to individual situations? If you are unsure, the next time you are interviewing try answering 'honesty and integrity' when the interviewer asks what you value. You could be hired as the next CEO for verbalising their corporate values statement but you are just as likely to be asked for a more personal example of how these values have been demonstrated in your actions.

In the context of work/life fusion, the only values that help to direct your career towards meaningful success are your values. Exploring and understanding the things that you value offers a solid platform for your direction finding and decision making. Being prepared to look behind commonly used words like 'honesty and integrity' and ask yourself how you have placed value on their meaning through your actions is simple to do and rich in insight. If our behaviour reveals to us what we truly value, it becomes easier to find our values in our decisions and for these decisions to begin defining meaningful, personal success in each case.

Thanks for your comments on the subject of values. I look forward to the conversations continuing!