Fuzzy Values Make Exhausted Leaders

Others run your life until you know your values.

Stop wandering in a fog of “shoulds.”

“Our values show us the path and motivate us to pursue it.” Paul Ingram in What do you Really Stand For

When Values Are Fuzzy

• Decision-making drains you. You say yes when you should say no.
• Consistency vanishes. The people in the room control who you are.
• Motivation turns external. You run on fumes instead of purpose.
• Regret catches you. At the end of the day, you feel unfulfilled.

Identify Your Values

Values are your deepest why. Without them, you’re building a house without a level.

Forget standard checklists.

Audit Emotions:

What words light you up?

Reactions reveal your values.

• What makes you angry? What was violated?
  Hate micromanagement? You value autonomy.
• When were you most alive? What was present?
  Who were you with? What mattered?

Choose Powerful Words

Don’t settle for surface answers.

• I want success. Why?
• Accomplished energizes me. Why?
• I need to see progress. Why?

Keep asking why until you can’t go further.

Limit your list. Choose three to five words you’re ready to fight for.

Live It

Clarity without action is decoration.

Turn values into behaviors

• Respect. Stop interrupting.
• Growth. Ask one hard question daily.
• Courage. Speak up when it matters.

Use values as a filter.

Before saying “yes,” check your values. If it’s a “no” to the value, it’s a “no” to the task.

Align your calendar. Your schedule tells the truth. Value “relationships”? A calendar full of tasks defeats you.

Expect tension

Values don’t eliminate conflict. They expose it. They force you to choose between:

• Honesty and harmony
• Achievement and family
• Courage and comfort

Challenge

What is one word that describes you at your best?

What behaviors prove it today?

This post is adapted from, What Do You Stand For, by Paul Ingram.

Values: Where Good Intentions Go to Die