Know Your Values

Knowing what your values are is extremely important to your decision-making process, and I want to explain why.

So many of my clients come to me with issues they are grappling with and ask me,

“What do you think I should do?”

And here is the thing, I don’t think there is one right answer for anyone or anything, nor do I believe that I know better than you what is best for you. But, knowing your values allows you to lean into your you-ness to make the best decisions for you, your career, your company, and your teams.

I had a client a couple of years ago who was thinking about moving her office. She had a charming but small space that was affordable and close to her home. The problem was that she did not feel like the building was a great representation of her brand. And so, she started looking for space, and within a few months, there it was - large windows, modern architecture, more space, and neighboring businesses that were in line with the quality of work she was doing. It was perfect. It was a place she would feel proud to bring her clientele to, yet she could not seem to decide to move forward.

When something stops us from making a decision and moving forward with something that we really want, it usually means that one or more of our core values is in opposition or not being honored. In this case with my client, we uncovered that the value for her was family.

The designer has a 15-year-old daughter whom she drove to and from school each day, and the location of her office allowed her to have that quality time with her daughter. Time that she knew would end in a year when she got her license. Unfortunately, the new space was located 20 minutes in the wrong direction, meaning that the commute could take 40 minutes to an hour during rush hour. As soon as we made this discovery, the decision became easy for my client.

“I need to wait another year to move,” she responded.

What are your five top core values? How do you ensure that you keep them front of mind, so you can lean into them when making important decisions?