Recently I’ve quite a bit of learning design around personal branding, self-leadership and goal setting.
If you type combinations of those words into a search bar the internet starts screaming at you.
Things like:
“SET YOUR PERSONAL VISION THAT ALIGNS TO YOUR VALUES”
“BE TRUE AND AUTHENTIC TO YOUR VALUES”
“MARKET YOURSELF AS A THOUGHT LEADER”
So I googled a little deeper and found this a list of values curated by James Clear. I considered how I would actually go about fine-tuning what my values actually are and came up with this process.
Before reading the list, the aim is to pick out 2-5 that really resound with you.
The first time you go through it highlight or note down any that make you think twice.
Then reduce your short list until you have 2-5 adjectives. Personally, I think the fewer the better.
Reflect on what you have in front of you. Why do they matter to you? Do these adjectives influence what you do and how you do it?
I have two values that really stand out for me:
Authenticity and competency.
When I reflect on my ways of working, my strengths and my weaknesses that makes complete sense.
One of the things I dislike the most is when people use jargon, buzzwords or complicated sentences to make themselves sound better. I dislike vague reassurances and am proud of my ability to ask why. Just say what you mean. Or be authentic.
And competency. I have high standards and I expect others to be at that standard. I find it frustrating when others don’t have the same high expectations of themselves. Although it’s definitely something I’ve been working on.
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Update 2023
So I found this blog and I thought it would be fun to see if my values are the same as they were four years ago.
After reducing the ones that jumped out at me from 14 down to 4 (I can’t remember last time how many I had in the first round), my list is very different:
Compassion, Community, Contribution, Responsibility.
A lot has changed in four years. I’ve become a parent, moved continent, lived through a global pandemic. But I think it’s also reflective of the work that I’ve been doing with Creative Diversity Network and a fantastic community of disability awareness trainers.
Compassion. I have more compassion for learners, for their lives outside of the courses, but also their needs. Some of that is down to juggling a hectic life of studying, working and parenting; some down to Online Teaching: Accessibility and Inclusivity.
Community. This is in part due to the work that I’ve been doing with Creative Diversity Network and a fantastic community of disability awareness trainers. And my own interest in Communities of Practice that I’m researching in my studies.
Contribution. My approach to learning has become more democratic as I’ve been teaching experts in their field, both with CDN and also on the Data Ethics Professionals and Facilitators course which I recognise as complementary to my own. Also, my confidence in my own knowledge and experience has grown and knowing that I don’t have to know everything. Whenever I run Train the Trainer or Data Ethics Facilitators, often people hold very tight control of the group. More experienced ones are happy to let the participants lead at times and often achieve deeper learning. I think I’m like that too.
Responsibility. I interpreted this one similarly to how I interpreted competency before. I believe that everyone has a responsibility to society – be it work, the environment, other people. I still have high standards, and I still expect others to meet them.
In all honesty though, I think I need to add another one to the list: reflection.
Maybe I’ll come back in 2027 to see how my values have changed again.
