Navigating change via values
Have you ever been in that situation where you don't know where to go? Which way to move? Feel stuck? or worse still, too many options? All you do know for sure is that something needs to change? I shared recently with some colleagues how my values act as my navigator during change.Let me explain...I can't remember when it was, and it was probably about ten years ago and part of a NLP exercise with a mentor that I locked down my core values. When I say "locked down", I don't actually think that you need to commit to them, but what I do know is that when I have checked in to see if anything has shifted, the answer is usually no, the three values are still there shimmering away...
My core values are joy, learning and balance.
When I am living these values, I am wholehearted, energetic, giving, a good person to be around. I like myself. When I am not, I am prone to depression, anxiety, and live life in washed out shades of colour. Fearful or cranky.I don't shy away from the hedonist tag, joy and pleasure is important to me, and brings out the best in me. When moments of joy become scant, I run a mile. And Joy exists in the workplace and the personal arena, there needs to be smiling, laughter, expressions of glee, sometimes excitement. You know the saying “if you enjoy what you do, you’ve never worked a day in your life”? That. Joy insulates me from the drudgery of cranky co-workers and unrealistic deadlines.It’s really important to me to learn. New industries, new people, new software, business models, new concepts. I don’t mind putting in the time to master the knowledge. I’ve often said that curiosity if the change manager’s friend. When we are ignorant we do our best work. We ask questions that people have forgotten to ask years ago, and learn something new. When I am not learning I am very bored. And boredom hangs like a heavy shawl around my shoulders. It’s difficult to shake off. And Joy is not enough.Balance is the tricky one for me as I naturally go hard and go fast. The first two, Joy and Learning, are innate. They are second nature for me. I will subconsciously seek joy and learning. Balance requires patience, grace, surrender and wisdom. Listening to intuition. Being quiet. The easy interpretation is work life balance, but often as not, its more subtle than that. Like a delicate calibration. The tweaking of a recipe. Creating a desired perfume. I need more of x and less of y. Balance needs me to mindful of it.While these three values are interrelated and you can see how they might play off each other eg no learning, no joy, and the balance is wrong, it is not necessary to have all three present at any one time. There is no "true north". Any of the values will take me in the right direction. But when all three are missing, I am lost and it is definitely time to change things.They become great filters through which to play with options – what would joy make of this idea? How does this opportunity sit with learning? Where is the balance in this offer? When you make your decisions through the lenses of values, you feel very strong and comfortable regardless of what the decision is. No regrets. Much comfort.So what of you? Do you have values that offer you a navigation tool through change? How do you use your values?