Project Purpose: Find Your Why to Find Your WaySýnishorn

Identify Your Values 

Every person has a value system which guides and directs their behavior. Our personal value system dictates what is important and relevant to us.

Have you ever worked with a leader or manager for whom it matters not just that they achieved their goals, but also how? Who knew what mattered and stood his or her ground about these things? Then you have probably worked with a manager who leads from his or her values.

Having personal values is living with principle. It requires identifying what matters to you and what you stand for in your life.

To discover and develop a life purpose, you need to identify what values will guide—what is important to you. Values can be your ethics or morals but are not limited to these. Values are what are important to us, what we value, and what is consistent with our purpose.

Going back to our metaphor: If Baguio is my ultimate destination in my life purpose journey, values are my lamp posts or road signs that guide me on which route or turn I should take so I won’t get lost. My personal values help me make the right decisions.

Leading with purpose gives you vision and direction. It provides a roadmap to guide you where to go, especially when you’re leading a group. On the other hand, values tell you how to get there: what you will do and what you will not do in trying to achieve your purposes. Reaching or drawing near your desired destination could indicate success and could even bring prestige, wealth, and power, but pursuing your purpose while guided by your value system builds your integrity, impacts your reputation, and creates a legacy that goes beyond your achievements.

Values define our character. These shape and influence:

· Our goals, pursuits, and actions at work and in our personal lives

· The way we relate to people

· The way we make decisions

· Our life choices

This is why we need to define our values and understand why they are important to us, what these involve, and what these require from us if we are to live by them.

Just as organizations have their core values, individuals do too. We may or may not be aware of them, but we function according to a set of values that guide and direct our behavior. If you don’t know what your values are, stop whatever you’re doing and check what values impact your choices. This is important because values are not created equal. We need to evaluate to see if the values we hold are worth fighting for in relation to the other values we hold.

For instance, when one of my daughters was younger, for some reason, she always prided herself in finishing her exams and quizzes way ahead of her classmates. One teacher got concerned about this, because she wanted my daughter to use the remaining time instead to be thorough and check her answers before turning in her paper. For some reason, my daughter valued speed, while her teacher valued accuracy and thoroughness. Guess which value mattered more to the one who is checking what she has learned so far? In a race, speed matters more, but in our daughter’s exams, correctness mattered more than speed did.

Most people have approximately three to five values that identify who they are at their core. Each person’s values are unique to that person; even if two people happen to pick the same value, such as integrity, each person will demonstrate it differently in their daily actions and language. Values reflect who we are on a daily basis, in everything we do at home and at work.

As a leader, values affect how I lead in all aspects of life. Let me give you a personal example. One of my core values is “To honor God,” which means that I’d like to glorify God in my life choices and decisions. It’s vitally important for me to please and bless the God of the universe. When I align with this value, my clients and team know what to expect from me. It is easier for me to decline projects and opportunities that I know would not be a blessing to God and other people. Another value I have is “professional growth and excellence.” How do I align with this in my decision-making? When evaluating a potential client, I assess how much my client and I will stretch and grow while working together. If I feel that this potential client will provide mutual opportunity for growth, I will likely take the job. If I feel that the potential client isn’t open to new ideas, I will likely decline the job.

Making the right decisions is only the beginning. Understanding your values and doing the “right thing” isn’t simple. In fact, for all of us, it’s a lifetime challenge that requires thought and practice.

Values complete and strengthen our sense of purpose. Just imagine a leader driven by his purpose without any moral compass. This leader would be so driven that he or she will run off anybody who gets in his or her way. That leader would be a demagogue—a leader who gains popularity by exploiting prejudice and ignorance among the common people, whipping up the passions of the crowd and shutting down reasoned deliberation.

Values are our roots that keep us grounded on what is important to us. The strength of our values determines the strength of the trunk, branches, leaves, and fruit from year to year. A strong tree supports the ecosystem around it; a leader with strong values supports not just his personal purpose but how he or she relates or leads other people.

Our values show us who we are and what we stand for. If we are not aware what our values are, we would not know what our standards are in making decisions. We might decide on impulse or necessity or whatever we think makes us happy for the moment. In contrast, if our values are clear to us, these would guide every decision we make and every action we take.

There are different kinds of values we hold to: 

· Personal values make up our personal attributes that shape our character and personality.

· Spiritual values include how we value and relate to God in a way that molds our life goals, above and beyond material things.

· Family values—how we value, love, and care for our loved ones—are molded by our relationships with our parents and children. 

· Career values refer to the way we regard our work life. Our career values mold our ambitions. Do we work only to earn, or to use our abilities to help society?

So, do you know by now what your values are? Your values have somehow helped you determine what purpose to live for, and will continue to help you guide your conduct as you pursue the fulfillment of your purpose.

As you live out your purpose, decide what values you will live by that will serve as your guides and your parameters in your pursuit of God’s purposes in your life.