Identify Your Values
a foundational exercise of Being Boss
Values are the foundation of Being Boss. They are the guiding principles that direct you through life (and work), helping you make decisions, prioritize what's important to you, create healthy boundaries, and build a business and a life on your own terms. Oh yes - values are truly that powerful.
WHAT ARE CORE VALUES
Core values are the personal truths and principles you hold most near and dear. What you value motivates the "why" behind the decisions you make and the actions you take.
But in order to reach that place of confidence in work and life, you have to do the work to discover which personal values and business values are the right match for you.
Because once you identify, understand, and practice your values, you become more at home with who you are. And your business has a more clear focus, too.
THE BENEFITS OF KNOWING YOUR CORE VALUES
Values Communicate Your Beliefs
When you define core values, it becomes easier to give people an idea of what you and your work stands for. It will give clarity to your messaging and positioning. Once you determine your values, building connections and relationships on shared principles and beliefs well happen naturally.
Values Attract Your Dream Community and Customers
The community and customers you desire likely share. your values or at the very least appreciate them. It is natural to want to connect and work with those that have aligned lifestyles and beliefs. When it comes to the products or services you offer, your offer may be similar to your competitor. But your values are what will set you apart and are a great way to build trust with others.
Core Values Help In Decision Making
As a boss, you have many decisions to make every day. When you define your core values, you will find clarity when it comes to making tough choices. You can spend less time contemplating opportunities or issues as they arise because you will be making decisions through the lens of your predetermined values. If you have a team, sharing your personal values and the company values will allow them to make choices based on your vision without your support in the moment.
Need Help Identifying Your Values?
check out these core value resources
Being Boss Minisodes
Finding Your Values
Tune in as Emily + Kathleen discuss why finding your values is so important and how you can pick out a handful of values of your own to guide your business decisions. View shownotes >>
Free Quiz
What Do You Value?
Need help narrowing in on your values? Our free values quiz will guide you through a short series of questions to help you hone in on what's most important to you.
Take the QuizThe Book
Being Boss
Being Boss gives you both hard-hitting business advice along with inspiring lessons on self-care and finding balance. With worksheets, checklists, and other real tools for achieving success, here's a guide that will truly help you "be boss" not only at growing your business, but in every aspect of your life.
Put Your Values Into Your Business
a planning kit for bosses
Once you know your values, it's up to you to make sure they become a part of the work that you do.
With CEO Day Kit, your values are an integral piece of your business planning.
From getting clear on your roles within your business, to what you're creating in the year ahead, CEO Day Kit integrates your values, your vision, and where you currently are in work and life into a 12-month plan of action for your business.
Because when you pull it all together, you're sure to build the business you most desire to create.
Share Your Values
Have you finally nailed down your values, boss? If so, CONGRATULATIONS!
Now, you need to know - your values are SO worth sharing.
Join other creative entrepreneurs, side-hustlers, and small business owners in the Being Boss Community, where we're having conversations about values-led work and life.
You'll be surrounded by other creative entrepreneurs who are making money doing work they love. Plus, you'll be part of the magic that happens when bosses connect, support and interact with each other.
List of Core Values
Defining your core values can feel like an overwhelming task. Sometimes just having a jumping off point can make a big difference. Below is a list of core values to consider. Don't feel limited by this list of examples as it isn't exhaustive. If you prefer to work with pen and paper, you can download this list of core values as a pdf worksheet:
How to use this values exercise
You'll want to dedicate time and space to defining your core values. Start by setting aside 30-60 minutes where you can be distraction free. Grab a pen, notepad and this list of values. Scan the list and indicate any words that jump out and feel good to you. Trust your intuition and don't overthink it.
The goal is to end up with only 3-5 core values total. Consider your vision for your life (or your business) and take a second scan through the values that originally resonated with you. Indicate those values that you feel are aligned with that vision.
If you are still having trouble with narrowing down your values, take a final pass through your list. Are any of them similar or supportive to each other? For example, if you listed both truth and honesty consider the following things:
- What do those words mean to you?
- How does the dictionary define them?
- Can you think of a situation in which these values have played a role?
You can also ask:
- If money weren't and issue, would these values still feel aligned?
- Would I put up a fight to defend this value?
Once you have your list of 3-5 core values, walk away from them for a day or two. Keep them in mind and check in to see how they show up in your day-to-day. Make any adjustments you find necessary. And once you have finalized your values list, keep a copy somewhere you will see often.
- Abundance
- Accessibility
- Accountability
- Accuracy
- Adventure
- Affluence
- Agility
- Alertness
- Alignment
- Altruism
- Ambition
- Art
- Artistry
- Authenticity
- Authority
- Awareness
- Balance
- Beauty
- Belonging
- Bliss
- Boldness
- Bravery
- Calmness
- Candor
- Capability
- Carefulness
- Celebration
- Certainty
- Change
- Closeness
- Cleverness
- Cleanliness
- Clarity
- Choice
- Charm
- Collaboration
- Comfort
- Commitment
- Compassion
- Competence
- Completion
- Control
- Consistency
- Conservation
- Consciousness
- Connection
- Confidence
- Conversation
- Cooperation
- Courage
- Craftiness
- Creativity
- Credibility
- Curiosity
- Daring
- Decisiveness
- Dependability
- Depth
- Determination
- Discipline
- Discovery
- Diversity
- Ease
- Education
- Efficiency
- Empathy
- Encouragement
- Energy
- Entertainment
- Enthusiasm
- Environmentalism
- Ethics
- Excellence
- Experience
- Expertise
- Exploration
- Expressiveness
- Fairness
- Faith
- Fame
- Family
- Fascination
- Fearlessness
- Fierceness
- Fitness
- Flexibility
- Freedom
- Friendliness
- Friendship
- Frugality
- Fun
- Generosity
- Giving
- Grace
- Gratitude
- Grit
- Growth
- Guidance
- Happiness
- Harmony
- Health
- Heart
- Helpfulness
- Honesty
- Hopefulness
- Hospitality
- Humility
- Humor
- Imagination
- Impact
- Independence
- Individuality
- Influence
- Ingenuity
- Innovation
- Inspiration
- Integrity
- Intelligence
- Intimacy
- Intuition
- Inventiveness
- Joy
- Justice
- Kindness
- Leadership
- Learning
- Legacy
- Liberation
- Logic
- Longevity
- Love
- Loyalty
- Luxury
- Magic
- Marriage
- Mastery
- Meaning
- Meticulousness
- Mindfulness
- Moderation
- Motivation
- Mystique
- Openness
- Opportunity
- Optimism
- Order
- Organization
- Originality
- Passion
- Patience
- Peace
- Perseverance
- Persistence
- Pleasure
- Playfulness
- Potency
- Power
- Practicality
- Pragmatism
- Precision
- Preparedness
- Presence
- Proactivity
- Professionalism
- Prosperity
- Rationality
- Realism
- Reason
- Recognition
- Reflection
- Relaxation
- Reliability
- Reputation
- Resilience
- Resolution
- Resourcefulness
- Respect
- Responsibility
- Rest
- Reverence
- Romance
- Sacredness
- Satisfaction
- Security
- Self-reliance
- Self-respect
- Serenity
- Service
- Sexuality
- Sharing
- Significance
- Silence
- Simplicity
- Sincerity
- Skillfulness
- Solidarity
- Solitude
- Sophistication
- Spirituality
- Spontaneity
- Stability
- Status
- Strength
- Structure
- Success
- Support
- Teaching
- Teamwork
- Thoroughness
- Thoughtfulness
- Tradition
- Tranquility
- Transcendence
- Trust
- Truth
- Understanding
- Uniqueness
- Unity
- Usefulness
- Utility
- Variety
- Victory
- Virtue
- Vision
- Vitality
- Volunteering
- Wonder
- Wittiness
- Wisdom
- Winning
- Wholeheartedness
- Wealth
- Watchfulness
- Warmth