I’m looking out my office window, smiling as I notice that the fog has lifted and I now have a clear view of the peak of Mount Baker. It’s fascinating to me how Mount Baker can be a point of orientation for those who live here in Bellingham.
Our values, when clarified, can provide this point of orientation. I mean really, they are already there in your life, we just need to see what’s often too close to notice.
As I restart my newsletter after a long writing-for-others slumber, I’m inspired to share with you some reflections on my three top values that I’ve clarified and how naming these values has been really helpful for me.
A couple of years ago I came across Lisa Congdon’s Values Deck. Basically it’s a set of 80-ish cards, with beautiful, colorful art work – each displaying the word, some art, and a brief description of the value (pictured above).
The process is simple, yet I found it really helpful for me.
You sort the cards into three piles:
1) matters a lot to me
2) matters somewhat to me
3) doesn’t matter to me
Then you go through each card one by one (which again because of the presence of the colorful art makes the process quite enjoyable compared to just a plain word on a card) and put each card in one of those three piles. At this point you don’t lay them all out. Just stack in three piles.
Then you put the second and third pile off to the side, and deal with ”matters a lot to me”. At that point it’s about prioritizing and finding your top 10 values. So you spread those ”matters a lot to me” cards out and shift them around according to what feels right. And then find your top 3 or top 5. KEY: don’t overthink this. Go with your gut. Try to resist the thought that says ”I should value this”.
Here’s what emerged for me in no particular order.. and here I’ve renamed them slightly to what feels even more aligned.
1) Connection
2) Play / Joy
3) Transformative Learning and Growth
So it’s no wonder when I notice my energy going way up and I look at what I’m doing. ”Oh I’m facilitating applied improv! And all three of these values are active!”
Alternatively, I can noticed when I feel drained. In those cases it is common that none of these values are present.
They have served as good criteria when I’m considering whether I take on something or not. If at least two out of three values aren’t present, it makes sense that I’m not jumping at the chance to do it.
These values have a magnetic pull for me.
And I believe that connection, play/joy, and transformative learning are vital for all of us in these volatile, uncertain, and complex times!
What’s interesting is that when we are in a state of toxic fear and threat we:
1) can play it safe and disconnect.
2) We can see the world as serious and only serious.
3) And we can get caught up in re-creating the same world over and over, stuck in status quo, resistant to learning and growth.
In the coming weeks I’ll be writing reflections on these three values, that make my heart sing, are essential to cultivate in these times, and are foundational to my work with organizations.
Next issue: Cultivating connection and trust is foundational.
Gratefully,
David Westerlund
Executive Coach,
Designer/Facilitator of Team/Org-wide/Leadership Development Retreats,
Catalyst of Meaningful and Playful Engagement
Unlocking Hidden Resources by Facilitating Meaningful And Playful Engagement
p.s. drop me a line if you wanna have a coffee. I’d love to see what treasures emerge and play as we chat! (In person or on Zoom)
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