"It's not hard to make decisions once you know what your values are." - Roy Disney

Today, I am thinking about how important it has been for me to identify, and live by, my values in my career. Of course, this is even more important in my personal life! One of the most significant parts of my growth has been learning what is most important in life, and my professional career, and how I can honor that in my actions.

Arriving at a point where I know what I value most has been a process that has taken place throughout my entire life. I hope it is a process that will always continue as I believe I will always have more to learn. This process has been characterized by learning from my mistakes, and through the relationships I have shared with others. Each misstep has held the promise of growth. Each opportunity to grow closer to those I love and respect, or to learn how to distance myself from those who teach me with their bad examples, has given me the chance to test and strengthen my values.

Some of the most lasting lessons have come from times when I have not lived up to my values and suffered the consequences of those poor choices. Learning what I never want to do, or feel, again has helped me make better choices. Even more powerful have been the times when it has taken courage to stand firm in my values. When I could look at the outcomes of my choices and know with certainty that I had lived up to my best self despite pressure from others, or the fear of failure or rejection. Learning the power, and peace, of having no doubts about my actions has fed my desire to do this as often as possible.

Along the way, I have benefited greatly from the support of my mentors. Considering their values, how they lived these, and the choices they made, has been invaluable. Sometimes they gave me something to measure up to. At other times their approaches provided options and contrasts that helped me refine my beliefs and strengthen my commitment. There is such a thing as a negative mentor and I also value those who showed me examples I’ve worked hard not to emulate. As I came to understand my own values, having the context my mentors provided helped me test and shape what I believe.

As I grew, I learned to recognize that my relationship to my values changes, and that even aspects of my values themselves change over time. One of my mentors shared a story from his own life that has stayed with me and that I have told to a number of my colleagues and protégés. As a young man, he had worked hard to examine his feelings, beliefs, and values, and he had reached a point where he had great confidence that he understood them well. He told me it felt like he had these sorted out as though they were a collection of precious things placed carefully in order in their boxes on a shelf. Years later, in the midst of a serious crisis in his life, he realized these values no longer served him well. This was a great surprise and he told me that he learned he needed to take those boxes down from the shelf and reexamine their contents from time to time.

His experience has helped me over the years as I test and examine my values, and how well them serve me and match my character. Just as he taught me, my values may change as I gain more life experience. Even more important for me has been learning how my understanding of my values, and my appreciation of how I can best live in accordance with them, evolves over time. I have also learned that the same values apply to my professional and personal life and that the only meaningful difference is in how I can best apply them in each context.

Some of the values I have recognized as being of greatest importance to me are these:

Collaboration and communication. I seek to listen to what others have to share and to respect their contributions, and values, even when they don’t agree with my own. I presume competence, and love, in the other. In sharing what I have to contribute, I am open and honest and try not to take it personally when my contributions meet with opposition, disagreement, or even disrespect. I meet others open to working together with them to pursue common goals and to giving my best efforts to help the team succeed.

Acting with integrity and meeting others with trust. I do my very best to be honest with myself and with others, to be gentle in my honesty, and to act in accordance with my values in the best interest of those we serve. I enter into new relationships with trust and work to earn my colleagues’ trust each day.

Authenticity and optimism. I speak and act in ways that genuinely reflect my character, thoughts, and values. I see the best in others and work to make the best of every situation. I believe we can make a positive difference together and experience great satisfaction in the process.

Helping others grow and putting others first. I seek the best for others by considering what they need from me, and by seeking to help them achieve their objectives as we work toward our common goals. I look for opportunities that will support others’ professional development and expect them to make mistakes. I value that this is a way we all grow stronger and wiser by learning from experience, and accept that some mistakes are inevitable as we challenge ourselves to be out best.

Equity. beyond equality. I believe that it is fundamentally important to work to create an environment where each person has a fair and equitable opportunity to realize their individual potential. Equity means seeking justice and will sometimes mean we need to go beyond providing equality. It includes a commitment to the demonstrable fact that we all benefit when we embrace diversity and to work for social justice.

Taking responsibility. I accept personal responsibility for honoring my commitments, and for the results of my actions. I must be ready to admit when I am wrong and to apologize for my mistakes. I must also be prepared to engage fully in responding to unintended consequences of my best intentions. I once had a manager who insisted we never apologize in our communications with those we served and this is an excellent example of negative mentoring. I can’t imagine a career in service that would not include many situations where a sincere apology would be required to honor my values.

Respect. I treat others with respect and expect to have to earn their respect through my actions. I treat others with dignity, compassion and empathy. Earnestly desiring to be respected myself, I know this is only possible when I meet others with genuine respect.

Being of service. I seek to be of service to those who work for me, those I work for, and especially those we serve together. I believe we will achieve the most meaningful and lasting results when we all approach one another with this attitude. I find that one of the most satisfying things in life is to make a positive difference. This is especially true when we can make a difference together.

Humility. I do not seek to draw attention to my contributions but to instead recognize that each of us brings real value to the work we do together. It is often someone else who has made the most significant contribution and I am genuinely grateful to be part of a team of talented and dedicated professionals. When our efforts are successful I would rather give the credit to others. I am content to be one member of the team when we succeed and prepared to take perso responsibility when the teams I lead are not successful.

Above all, to do what is right. In the end, I find that any decision becomes simpler when I apply this value. I do not minimize the challenge of determining what is right in some situations. Still, the effort to work this out is always worth the effort. If the way forward is not yet clear, I believe we have more to learn before making a decision. Once the right choice is clear, it is easier to act even in the most difficult circumstances.

My values affect what I decide to give energy to, to pay attention to, and to prioritize in taking action. They filter out distractions and focus my thoughts on what truly matters. Roy Disney was right. Once you know, and live, your values, making decisions is much easier and more effective.