"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don’t much care where--" said Alice.
"Then it doesn’t matter which way you go," said the Cat.
"--so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation.
"Oh, you’re sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
~Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
In The Art of Self-Coaching, the course that I launched and continue to teach at Stanford, I define self-coaching simply as "the process of guiding our own growth and development." [1] But it's important to recognize that for each of us this work takes places within a unique context defined by our personal values and our vision for ourselves. If self-coaching is a set of practices and a sequence of steps through which we intend to effect positive change in our lives, then our values and our vision comprise the Big Picture: a source of meaning and purpose, and the underlying rationale for the changes we seek to make.
Overview and Timing
It's not necessary to fully explore our values and vision at the start of a self-coaching process. These are large, complex topics that take time and effort to address, and at the beginning of a change effort it may be more important to simplify: Turn complex goals into simple activities, start small and build momentum, celebrate little wins, and scale up as needed. [2] But I'm not suggesting that a sense of direction is irrelevant. The passage above is often misquoted as, "If you don't know where you're going, then any path will do," and the whole point of a structured self-coaching process is clarifying just which paths we should pursue now.
I am saying that while self-coaching is an active and iterative experiential learning process [3], once we've determined our immediate goals and begun moving in a general direction, we must also insure that as we assess our progress, we also make time at regular intervals to pull up and observe the view from a higher perspective. Chris Argyris' concept of double-loop learning is highly relevant here [4]--exploring our values and vision is a means of identifying and updating the assumptions and mental models that have been influencing and supporting (or undermining) our day-to-day self-coaching efforts. [5]
While we have to determine for ourselves when and how often this work at a higher level should be done, we need to be mindful of two diametrically opposed but equally dangerous traps: 1) Doing too much, too soon, and 2) Doing too little, too late. We may have a tendency toward one extreme or the other that we should bear in mind--or we may find them both tempting at different points in the process. I can get stuck at the outset of any project by indulging in an excess of higher-level thinking as a respectable form of procrastination, but I can also build up a sense of momentum once I get started that feeds on itself and makes me reluctant to slow down enough to do a sufficient amount of higher-level thinking on a regular basis
Exploring Our Values
A dilemma we face when discussing "values" is that their definitions can be so subjective--and when we arrive at a definition that's true for us, we still have to determine what it means to actually live that value. Here's an exercise to reach an actionable definition of your core values:
- Create a list of words that you think of as values that have some meaning to you. Don't worry about what that meaning is at this point.
- Keep writing until the words stop flowing freely. Don't worry about how many words are on the list.
- Take each word in turn and think of a story that demonstrates that value in action, preferably an actual event you experienced or observed. Don't write out the entire story, but jot down a few notes so that you can readily reflect back upon it.
- Having illustrated each value this way, ask yourself:
- What intrinsic rewards are the result of this value? In what ways does it fulfill me or create a sense of meaning in my life?
- What extrinsic rewards--what forms of status or compensation--am I willing to sacrifice on behalf of this value?
- How important is this value to my self-identity? How different would my life have to be for me to abandon this value?
- Use the answers to these questions to narrow your original list of words down to no more than five--and preferably three. Consider the results your core values.
Another approach is to use a values-based assessment that incorporates a set of pre-defined values and relies on a questionnaire to determine which values are most important or meaningful to us. These tools offer a number of advantages, but as with any instrument, it's important to recognize that even the best results need to be weighed against our personal experience and shouldn't be accepted as universal truths. An assessment I've used and recommend frequently is the Values in Action Survey of Character Strengths (VIA), developed by Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson, which helps us to identify the values from which we derive the greatest meaning. [6]
Defining Our Vision
Our personal values serve as the foundation for our vision for ourselves. The concept of a "vision" is inherently fuzzy and susceptible to abuse--we've all read "vision statements" full of noble sentiments that are routinely ignored. But any good tool can be misused, and I want to rehabilitate this concept. I also want to distinguish between a vision and a goal. Goal-setting is an important step, providing both direction and motivation for the work that follows. [7] But even our most ambitious goals are components of a larger, more comprehensive vision. Our vision for ourselves should be more deeply rooted and enduring than any particular set of goals, and should be the product of far-reaching reflection.
In "Building Your Company's Vision," Jim Collins and Jerry Porras lay out a framework to help leaders identify a vision for their organizations that can be readily adapted by individuals--here I've simply replaced "companies" with "professionals":
Truly great [professionals] understand the difference between what should never change and what should be open for change, between what is genuinely sacred and what is not. This rare ability to manage continuity and change--requiring a consciously practiced discipline--is closely linked to the ability to develop a vision. [8]
In Collins and Porras' framework, a vision consists of two interrelated elements:
- Our Core Ideology: What we stand for and why we exist, lasting qualities that in some cases will never change over the course of our lives. Comprised of 1) our core values, our essential and enduring tenets; and 2) our core purpose, our reasons for being as professionals.
- An Envisioned Future: What we aspire to become, achieve, or create--a goal that will change only at long-term intervals. Comprised of 1) an audacious goal that looks beyond our current capabilities and environment; and 2) a vivid, engaging and specific description of what it would be like to achieve this goal.
Here are three brief exercises to explore the other three elements in Collins and Porras' framework: Our core purpose, an audacious goal, and a vivid description.
Core Purpose
State what you do as a professional in clear and simple language. Then ask yourself, Why is this important? Use your answer to redefine what you do as a professional, and then ask again, Why is this important?, and repeat the process four more times. It may take fewer than five Whys? or it may take more, but at a certain point you may have a sense that this is your core purpose.
Audacious Goal
Identify a goal that...
- Looks beyond your current capabilities and environment.
- Is clear and tangible, requiring little or no explanation.
- Is compelling, energizing and engaging.
- Focuses your efforts on its fulfillment.
- Has a defined finish line.
Vivid Description
Describe what it would be like to achieve your audacious goal. Think not only in linguistic terms but also in images, as if it were a picture you could carry around with you. Start from a vivid description of what success would feel like. Ask yourself:
- Where do you see yourself in ten or even 25 years?
- If a journalist in the future were to write an article about you and your success, what would the article be about? What topics would it cover?
- What limits have you set for yourself as a professional? And what would it look like if you exceeded those limits?
Footnotes
[1] The Art of Self-Coaching (Public Course)
[2] Building Blocks (A Tactical Approach to Change)
[3] Experiential Learning Revisited
[5] Corn Mazes and Mental Models
[6] VIA Survey of Character Strengths
- I've also taken Scott Bristol's Life Journey Map and have found it tremendously useful. I have not taken the Clifton/Gallup StrengthsFinder, but it's been recommended to me.
[7] Aim High...Enough (Self-Coaching and Goal-Setting) and Babies, Bathwater and Goal-Setting
[8] Building Your Company's Vision (Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, Harvard Business Review, 1996)
Revised August 2020.
Thanks to Thaler Pekar for her thoughts on The Trouble with Values and the importance of stories.
Photo by Mohamed Muha.
