Unlocking Leadership Resilience:How Your Values Hold the Key to Personal and Professional Transformation
Discouraged, frustrated, overwhelmed, burnt out? It’s likely you have felt this way or are feeling that way right now. This can be a key indicator that your values are not being honored.
If I were to ask you what your values are, would you know? And if you know what your values are, could you share with me how you are honoring them every day?
Values are the daily principles we live by.
Values apply to all areas of life…work, home, and relationships. We make choices every day based on values, whether we realize them or not. We lead ourselves and others based on values.
Research has found the #1 thing that shows up over and over in all successful people is that they have a strong sense of self or self-knowledge. They have a deep and honest understanding of themselves or in other words, they know who they are, and they hold true to that in all life circumstances.
The more you know yourself, the more you can relate to others. When you know yourself well, you can approach any situation or conversation from a place of confidence and inner strength. As a leader, you have to constantly adapt to changes, new people, and new environments, and in order to do that well, it starts with self-awareness.
Values are a key area of self-awareness.
There are two types of values:
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Fear based values
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Conscious based values.
Fear based values cause you to take action to avoid something. They are have to’s.
Conscious based values allow you to take positive action. They are want to’s.
It’s important as a leader and a key to leading yourself well, to understand the difference between fear based and conscious based values.
Fear-based values are often created from outside influences, such as friends, media, culture, school, church, or parents. We don’t purposefully choose them.
Conscious based values are values we choose based on who we are and what we believe.
One of my top values is authenticity. This is a conscious choice I make every day to be authentic and something I want to do, which leads to positive action in my life.
I love this quote that says,
"Anything that changes your values changes your behavior." George Sheehan
We are either compromising or honoring our values every day as we lead. When our values are being compromised, we feel discouraged, frustrated, and overwhelmed, which leads us to change our behavior in some way.
When our values are being honored, we feel satisfied, rested, and confident, which leads us to change our behavior in a positive way.
The first step is to discover what your values are, and then it’s being self-aware of how we live them out and honor them every day.
Three ways to honor your values:
- Write them down, create something fun to hang in your house and office, and remind yourself of them often.
- Do a check-in and ask yourself regularly, am I honoring or compromising my values? Especially if you are feeling more frustrated, sad, discouraged or more overwhelmed than normal.
- Make daily choices based on your values, and align your decisions with your values by using them as a filter for decisions.
You are the keeper of your own values. No one else will do this for you because, hopefully, they are honoring their own. So, it is up to you to honor your values every day.
Action steps to move forward:
Reflect on these questions:
- Think of a time when life was really good. What value of yours was being honored?
- When do you usually compromise your values, and why?
Genea Browne is an engaging executive coach with over 20 years of experience in both ministry and the marketplace. She is most passionate about guiding individuals and organizations to achieve alignment, growth, and excellence. She achieves this through intentional coaching on mission, vision, values, purpose, and goals.
Certifications:
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Certified Professional Coach
Masters Certificate in Human Resources from Cornell
Certified Master Practitioner in the Energy Leadership Index
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