🌟 YOUR CAREER ICEBERG ~ What LIES beneath the Surface of Who You Are?
Your values are one of the life anchors that you should be clear about. They form one of the core of who you are. Values are intangible, often hidden from others and sometimes even yourself, but they act as a lens that guides your actions, choices, reactions and decisions. If you visualise an iceberg, your values are what is beneath the surface, which determines a huge percentage of who you are, how you behave and the choices you make in your life and career.
🌟 VALUES IN CAREER PLANNING – Self-Coaching Guide 1 (Know Yourself, Step 1 in Career Planning
💭 Sometimes when making a decision or taking action we sometimes use a clear, conscious criteria that guides us. However, on a daily basis we make decisions, big and small, shaped by an unconscious set of criteria. Rarely do we whip out a list of written principles or standards we live by, but those values are always present, working in the background as our compass. They only become more visible when we are faced with a tough decision or a situation that requires us to weigh various options.
🎯 DEFINING VALUES & THEIR IMPORTANCE in Career Planning
Values are defined as deeply held beliefs that have the ability to influence our behaviour and choices. As you deepen your self-knowledge to help you with your career planning, it’s not about having a list of values, it’s about being clear for yourself on your core, deeply held beliefs that guide your.
To test this, for each value or deeply held belief:
– write an explanation that helps define it
– identify its source and what continues to feed it in your life
– give an example of how it shows up in practice:
(1) in one of your life roles.
(2) in your job or workplace.
Nina Grunfeld has also defined values as “an internal compass that helps us make decisions and make choices to go in one way or another is our personal value system.”
🔅Values are your principles or standards of behaviour. They represent your judgement of what is important in your life, thereby determining behaviour.
🔅WHY VALUES MATTER
Values are important for:
– guiding decision making,
– shaping the choices you make,
– giving you a sense of identity,
– they govern your actions, and
– they influence your wellbeing (you are more happy/in harmony with them, and you feel tension when you are not in alignment with your values).
🎯 Self-coaching guidance: how to identify 16and live YOUR values
1. Imagine your best day or what annoys you the most and ask yourself “What’s important about that?” several times until you identify the underlying value. E.g. honesty and respect.
2. Think about your life experiences that have shaped you and identify the principles that you hold dear and live by. E.g. compassion and hard work.
3. Notice qualities you admire in others. These may resonate with your own principles and standards you already hold or aspire to live by. E.g. valuing family and people.
4. Once you have identified your values, it is important to write a list defining each value in your own words. Write a personal definition that is meaningful to you and shows how it translates into action (Jeni Purdie).
E.g. “My value of honesty means that I never avoid telling myself the truth even when it is painful to admit.”
5. Once you have your list, assess where your values are aligned in all the areas of your life/goals (personal and professional) and where they are not in harmony.
Results – act on the areas where there is disconnect or lack of harmony.
💭 Tip: Use the GROW self-coaching model to guide this process. Explore additional resources online, and don’t hesitate to seek support if you need it.
RESOURCES for SELF-ASSESSMENT and REFERENCE MATERIALS
1. Self-Assessment Tools (PDFs) — Resource Materials 1 & 2
2. Online Self-Assessment Tool — Resource Material 3
“The Life Values Inventory (LVI) is a questionnaire-style assessment which measures how strongly you endorse certain pre-determined values such as Achievement, Belonging, Financial Prosperity and Spirituality. The assessment also measures where these values find their strongest expression and areas in your life where they are expressed least.
The LVI will increase your awareness of who you are. It will also provide suggestions on how your values interface with your personal and professional life, and whether or not the activities and experiences you engage in are in line with your highly prioritized values. You can use the results to gather additional information about career options and activities that naturally align with your values. The assessment will also cover practical steps you can take if you want to increase the presence of a value in your life or seek a suitable place to express that value.
The LVI is a free online assessment. No appointment with a counselor is necessary, and you can immediately receive and review the results as you see fit. Visit www.lifevaluesinventory.org to take the assessment and create a profile. You can take the assessment as many times as you’d like and record how your values change over time.” – https://career.virginia.edu/interests [SOURCE]
3. Reading Materials — Resource Materials 4 to 8
For more in-depth information on work and life values, please refer to the following articles:
-
iDreamCareer: Importance of Personal Values in Career Decisions
-
LeaderChat: 4 Questions to Help You Clarify Your Core Values
4. VIDEOS for Illustration: resource materials 9 & 10
-
Study.com – How Can a Value-Based Career Assessment Help You Choose a Career?
(5 minutes) – A practical teaching video that explains what work values are, common types, and how values assessments can influence career choices. -
Khan Academy – Aligning Career with Personal Values
(2 minutes) – Donna shares how being mission-driven shaped her career choices, and why aligning work with personal values is key to fulfilment.
Happy self-assessment and may this deepen your self-knowledge!
Closing Reflection
Your values are the hidden foundation shaping your choices, your career, and ultimately your fulfilment in life. When you take the time to uncover and live in alignment with them, you gain clarity, confidence, and direction—even when the path feels uncertain.
Here’s your challenge:
💭 Take 15 minutes this week to explore your own “career iceberg.” What’s beneath the surface that guides your decisions? Which values are in harmony across your life and where might there be a disconnect?
👉 Start with the self-coaching exercises and resources shared above. Write down your top values, define them in your own words, and notice how they show up in your daily choices.
The more clearly you understand your values, the more empowered you will be to create a career and life that truly reflect who you are.
🌟 Your turn: Which value feels most alive for you right now, and how will you honour it?
JOIN THE COACH ENNIE & ECLC CAREER GROWTH COMMUNITY
Gain access to tools, tips, and a supportive space to explore your values and discover how they align with your life and career journey.
Join the WhatsApp Community here:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/CI1MEbdzX2G0zMvsZHNvdq
Once inside, join groups that are tailored for your journey:
1. Career Planning, Development and Management
2. Leadership Development and Team building
3. Wellness-Centred Life Planning and Personal Management
4. NGO Workers: Career Coaching and Advice
5. Job Search and Employability Support
Ennie Chipembere
Coach, NGO Institutional Development Consultant and ECLC Director
E-mail: ennie.chipembere@eclcglobal.com
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ennie-chipembere-chikwema/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/EnnieCareerCoach
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