How to succeed at work by sticking to your values
Knowing your values can help you to succeed at work by guiding you to make the best decisions for a fulfilling and ambitious career.
How to succeed at work by sticking to your values
Careers can be confusing. Careers are confusing. Particularly now so much has changed since the pandemic.
We’re constantly making decisions that have a monumental impact on our lives. This feels daunting for the majority of people, no matter what stage of their career.
We might find ourselves being swayed by other people’s opinions or shiny objects like salaries and job titles that pull us towards an opportunity, only for us to feel unfulfilled a few months later.
One way you can take back control is to put your values at the forefront of any major career decisions.
What are values?
Values are the things that motivate, inspire, and drive you. When you understand your values, you can make the decisions that feel right for you and everything you believe in. Even if that’s different to what other people expect you to do. Values encourage you to be brave, feel confident, and develop a career that’s true to your uniqueness.
In times of change and uncertainty, your values can ground you. Instead of feeling lost, values can help you to constantly navigate your way through the knotty moments that are inevitable throughout everybody’s career.
Not sure of what your values are? Here are three steps you can take to gain understanding of what your values might be:
1. Look back to move forward
Reflect on the happiest and hardest moments in your career. Think about the who, what, why, and where. Write down your reflections and look for the things that did or didn't work for you.
2. Coach yourself questions
Ask yourself: what is most important about who, what and where you work? Make a list of your non-negotiables and things you might be willing to compromise on. Don’t forget - compromising on something now doesn’t mean you can work towards that in the future.
3. Visualise your values
Gather a selection of images that emotionally resonate with you. You could create a new album on your phone, make a Pinterest board, or just tag a few images in your camera roll. Try not to question it to begin with. Once you have a few images, take a step back and think about what they represent for you.
What do you enjoy doing with your time? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What engages your brain and really intrigues you? What skills do you have, and what skills would you like to develop in the future? What are your goals and ambitions? Who inspires you?
These three steps should help to identify a few themes and key areas that are important to you. These are what make up your values. Knowing your values can help you to find purpose in your life and you can use them as a guide to make the best decisions for a fulfilling and ambitious career.
Here at Loopin, we're on a mission to support and empower employees - from those at the early stages of their careers, right through to senior managers and CEOs. With a full feature set to support employee wellbeing and leadership development, our Slack-integrated tool is key for any organisation. Click here to book a 15-minute demo with one of our team.
