What’s really driving you?

A key question all of my career transition coaching clients must answer when working with me is “Why?”  Why are they looking for change?  What is prompting their feelings of restlessness or being stuck?  What’s the intrinsic driver prompting them to work with me on “What’s next?”

A person’s “Why” is extremely important in making a successful career transition.  Without it, one is likely to end up in a vicious cycle of either staying where they are and continuing to feel unfulfilled in some way, OR making a move without addressing root cause.

There are many possible reasons “Why;” a common one involves connection (or lack thereof) to organizational culture or environment. 

One significant driver of culture is an organization’s Values.  Not the ones written on the wall or coffee mugs, mind you…. the ones that the majority of leaders and employees live day in and day out.

When an individual’s own Core Values are not in alignment with the organization’s Values, that eventually leads one to feel disconnected and unengaged at best – and to feel incredible stress, unhappiness and decreased momentum at worst.   

A little education on “Core Values:”

1.    What are they?  Core Values are those beliefs, perspectives and characteristics that provide a guidepost and framework for our behaviors in life – both at work and at home.  They are our motivators and drivers and help us to make decisions about our actions.

2.    How do you know what yours are?  You probably intuitively know the answer to this question, and just may not be taking active time to contemplate it.  Once you do, maybe you’ll come up with a list of 10 or 20 values that seem to fit.  That said, in order to be really effective at driving your behavior and actions, it is best to isolate those 3-5 Core Values that are most authentic to you, and that truly define your greater purpose.

3.   How can Empowered Results with KAT help you get clarity with this? 

a.    Self-Assessment:  My clients are given a proprietary Core Values tool that when they engage with me for coaching; the results become an anchor reference for our work together.

b.    Formal Assessment:  I am certified to deliver and debrief the Energy Leadership Index (ELI) which can raise awareness on and amplify my clients’ Core Values.  Forbes rated the ELI as the #3 leadership assessment in 2018.

c.    Decision-Making Assistance:  I also use a binary decision-making tool that makes it easier to incorporate Core Values into the decision-making process.

4.    Check out my assessments blog from last year to learn about more ways to self-assess your Values, skills and other attributes to help determine your “Why.”

What are your top 3-5 Core Values?  How do they show up in your work?  Please share so others might benefit from your experiences!  P.S. mine are: (1) Learning / Curiosity, (2) Truth / Authenticity, (3) Courage, (4) Connection to Others / Relationships, and (5) Impact.

To chat more about your “Why?” job search strategy and what to do with it so that you can lead a more fulfilling work life, contact me via my website, schedule some time to chat, or give me a shout at empoweredresultswithkat@katresults.com.

#careercoaching #careertransition #corevalues

KRISTEN TAGLIAMONTEMARCH 30, 2021