How to create a career or business that aligns with your values

Ever said yes to a boss, colleague, or client when you should have said no?

Or said yes to a job when deep down you felt a little ‘off’ about the company?

Ever felt uncomfortable or unhappy with how something has panned out or a decision you made?

Maybe more tense than usual when interacting with certain people?

Lacking motivation to get up and go after certain milestones in your business or career?

Congratulations, you’re human!

No, seriously…this is very normal, even those of use that have a business or career that aligns with our values and what we want from life have these moments.

Feelings like these are usually a sign that you’re off balance and unaligned with your values aka something isn’t quite right. These feelings should be listened to, pronto!

It’s important to know what your values are. They impact every decision you make in life.

Friends, partners, where to live, big decisions, small decisions and…your career or business.

Creating a career or business that aligns with your values is vital for feeling personally fulfilled and purposeful. That’s not to say every day is sunshine and rainbows, but overall, you should feel aligned with what you’re doing day to day and why you bother getting up in the morning.

No matter whether you work in a corporate office, serve coffee beachside, lead a global team or work from your laptop whilst running your remote business; it should align with your values which are driven by the things you believe to be important in life.

And by aligning your career and/or business with your values you’ll want to show up and give it your all because you’re doing something that you’re passionate about, believe in, and love.

Let’s cover how to know what your values are, and how to then align them to create the business or career you desire.

What are values and how can you create them?

Without realising, we all live by a certain set of unspoken ‘rules’ that tell us whether we feel aligned or a bit out of sync. These are what we know as Values.

We’ve all heard about company values and had the preachy coaches drilling the importance of values across our social platforms, but we never really get to know what they are. So, let’s take a look together!

In the simplest form, values are the things that are important to you, like honesty, kindness, integrity, or connection. They help guide your thoughts, decisions, and actions and make up who you are and the kind of experiences you have in life.

They shape your story. They influence your relationships. They dictate how you respond to people and situations. And so much more!

Getting to know what your values are is a process of figuring out what matters to you, what you believe in, and what kind of person you want to be and what kind of life you want to live. Big stuff.

Identifying your values is a process of self-reflection and self-discovery.

Below are some steps you can follow to uncover your values. And if you already know what they are, (go you) reflect and make sure you’re still in alignment with them:

1. Reflect on past experiences Think about the experiences in your life that have been meaningful to you. When have you felt most fulfilled or proud. What values did they reflect?

2. What are your beliefs? What do you feel strongly about? What do you believe in and what do you stand for? What kind of person do you want to be? What causes or issues do you care about?

3. Identify what motivates you What drives you? What are you passionate about? What makes you feel happy and fulfilled? What do you enjoy doing? Why?

4. How do you make decisions? Think about recent decisions, big and small. What choices did you make? What things did you consider? What values do they reflect?

5. Make a list Write down the words that represent the things you have identified as important to you. What do they give you? Is that word the best description of them?

6. Evaluate and prioritise Are there any values that are missing? Have you doubled up on things which actually represent the same thing? Decide which are most important and rank them in order of importance. I’d recommend no more than 6!

I’d encourage you to revisit and adjust your values list after letting those words settle (there is no magic number of days).

The words don’t need to make sense to anyone else, the important thing is that they make sense to YOU. Do this by reflecting on what’s important when it comes to living your life and creating a career or business that aligns with that.

Creating a career or business that aligns with your values

So, you’d like to wake up every morning knowing that what you’re doing to ‘earn a living’ lights you up, doesn’t make you question your whole existence and give you the Sunday night scaries?

That’s not much to ask? Surely?

Before you can begin to realign your career or business, you have to have a clear understanding of what your values are. What truly matters most to you and what drives you.

So, the good news here is you’ve already done most of the hard work by getting clear on your values.

Unless of course you’ve skipped the part above. But you haven’t done that, have you… make sure you’ve spent some time thinking about your values before you start figuring out this next bit.

Trust me on this!

So, once you’re clear on what your values are, let’s break down how you can start to create a business or career that aligns with them.

1. Get to know what your strengths and skills are

Yep, that means digging deep and actually being honest about what you love and acknowledging what you’re good at. Sometimes the hardest part.

What skills and strengths do you bring to the table? Which of your skills align with your values and what you're passionate about? What strengths do you have that support your values? This will give you an idea of what kind of career or business you could pursue.

2. Research your options and get clear on your vision

Research the different careers and businesses that align with your values and skills. Read about them, network with people who work in these fields, and learn as much as you can about what it takes to succeed. Are you up for that? Once you have a clear idea of what you want to do, create a vision of what your ideal career or business would look like. Think about the impact you want to have, the type of work you want to do, and the people you want to work with. Dive deep into it and write down your ideal day and the things you’ll be doing. Believe it.

3. Start small and take action

You don't have to go from zero to one hundred overnight. Starting a business, changing your career or even just re-imagining what those things look like for you and better aligning them to your values is a big step. You might not be starting at the top of your field from the get-go. Start small and work on building your skills and experience in your chosen field. This can be as simple as freelancing or starting a side hustle. Or saying yes to more of the things that are going to take you in the direction you want to head.

4. Remember to use your community

LinkedIn is the new rolodex (remember those?!). Surround yourself with the right support, they might have the connections you need, and they will definitely be there when you need that little pick me up. Find supportive people virtually and in person who believe in you and your vision. Find a mentor, get a coach, or join a community of like-minded individuals who can help you along the way.

5. Back yourself and commit

Stay committed and see it through. Stay committed to your vision and values, to yourself and your end goal. Don't let setbacks or obstacles discourage you. You will fail and things will go wrong. That’s part of the learning. Stay focused on what you want to achieve and continue to work towards it. Overnight success is only seen by those that didn’t have access to behind the scenes.

It’s easier than you think!

Creating a career or business that aligns with your values isn’t as hard as you might imagine. The biggest hurdle is knowing what your values are in the first place!

From here, life becomes easier, because you now have a list of criteria that you can check every decision against. Does it align, or not? And what do you want to do about that…

Take the time to clarify the things important to you.

Challenge what those ‘things’ give you and why they are important.

Write a list of words that represent these important things.

Et voila, you have some values to work with. No more than 4-6!

Look at the different areas of your life; career and business in this instance and question where those values are supported and where they are not.

What roles, industries or companies align with the values you have?

Based on your skills and strengths, what could you do in that space?

Finding a career or business that aligns with your values is a journey, not a destination. Knowing what your values are takes the guess work out of things. Be open to learning and growing along the way and make changes as necessary to keep your work life aligned with your values.

Know that the values you have now, might not be the same values you have in 5, 10, 20 years from now. Your life experiences will shape them.

If you want some help re-aligning life, your career or get clearer on the direction to move in, book a consult call and let’s have a chat about how we can work together to make that a reality for you!

Here’s to living life on your terms and making damn sure it’s supporting your values.