What are my core values? A very hard question! I never really thought about it and never sat down to find out. This assignment showed me that for some reason I find it really hard to self-evaluate myself. I don't like it! I don't know why. Maybe I'll find out in the next few months...But when I first read the assignment I wanted to quit :-)
Back to my values. On the top of my head I would say kindness, empathy, joy and happiness. I took an online test and that pretty much confirmed my self-evaluation. Turns out I know myself pretty well. According to the test my top 5 are:
- Pleasure: enjoyment, happiness, satisfaction
- Adventure
- Health
- Courage: follow your heart
- Peace: calm, freedom from conflict
I asked my husband and my best friend what they think my core values are and both of them mentioned kindness, happiness, courage and empathy. Nailed it!
A situation where I've had an ethical decision to make happened just recently. My husband and I had the opportunity to move to Wanaka. Wellington was just getting too expensive and we felt we needed a change. His employer let him work remotely. Mine didn't. So I had to decide whether to follow my heart (moving to Wanaka was a once in a lifetime opportunity because of COVID and lack of tourists, cheaper rents, etc) and "sacrifice" my secure job in a Government Agency. To be honest I didn't really like my job. Sadly, I've never liked my career. I was stuck being an assistant my whole career. So my heart told me to quit and move down south. I decided it was time for me to finally find out what I want to do as a job. Something that I really enjoy and brings me happiness. I've never had that. So instead of looking for a new job in Wanaka I took some time off to go on a "self-finding" journey. It was the best decision I've ever made! The journey was epic! It led me to DevAcademy and I'm certain I'm finally on track to a new career that will bring me joy and satisfaction.
Looking back I can see how my values shaped my decision making. I wasn't aware of it at that time.
Pleasure, Courage and Adventure: My current job didn't bring me joy or happiness. I was craving it. So I was ready to listen to my heart without knowing what was going to happen. I didn't really have a plan but I had a goal. It was one big adventure and it was more important to me to find happiness than it was to have certainty, a regular income, job security. But I also have to mention that I had full support from my husband. I couldn't have done it without him and his encouragement.
How did my culture influence my values and identity? This is quite sad really. Growing up in Switzerland my whole life I was taught that having a good and stable job is the most important thing. Work comes first. Money is very important. You need financial stability. You don't quit what you have started. You don't take risks without thinking of all the consequences first. You don't have gaps in your CV. If you want to learn something new you have to go to Uni or another expensive school to get a degree. It doesn't count otherwise. My family and almost all my friends lived by these values, me included. But I had to witness how these values slowly destroyed my parents. I didn't want to live that way. I believe that's when my values started to evolve and change. Which is why I probably moved to New Zealand.
My strengths and limitations
A few years ago I took the Myers Briggs quiz to learn about my strengths. Back then my result was Adventurer IOFP (Introverted, Observant, Feeling, Prospecting). I took the same quiz again today and the result is still the same. According to Myers Briggs, my strengths are:
- Charming
- Sensitive to others
- Imaginative
- Passionate
- Curious
- Artistic
I took another quiz, the Strengthsfinder test, just to see if I get other results. They are:
- Empathizer
- Self-believer
- Chameleon
- Coach
- Believer
I think both test results complement each other. The labels might be slightly different, but I think the core message is the same. Studying them and thinking about my previous jobs and career development things start to make a bit more sense now. But before I think any further, let's evaluate my weaknesses, or limitations according to Myers Briggs and the Adventurer IOFP personality:
- Fiercely independent
- Unpredictable
- Easily stressed
- Overly competitive (I strongly disagree with this one!)
- Fluctuating Self-Esteem
My strengths and limitations in terms of my learning and career development
I'm starting to see why I was stuck for so long in a career that I never really liked. Being an assistant (PA, Marketing Assistant, legal Assistant) doesn't work with "being fiercely independent". It's quite the opposite really :-) The fluctuating self-esteem in addition with my old "Swiss values" makes sense too. I never wanted to learn something new. I thought I was not good enough and I would fail. So I stuck to what was easy.
Looking at my strengths and core values I understand why I always found happiness in my jobs despite my dislike of the role itself. I LOVE working with people! Kind people I have to say. I worked in fantastic teams and found some of my closest friends at work. I'm very good at building relationships and people tend to open up to me quite easily. They come to me if they have problems or need someone to talk to. But it takes time! I'm an introvert and I need time to feel comfortable around new people. But it's so worth it! After a while, when I found "my" people, I'm like a different person. Not everyone gets to see that person. If you do, congrats! That means you're special to me :-) That doesn't mean that I'm mean to other people. Quite the opposite! I'm just shy.
I think my empathy and sensitivity to others will help me in my learning journey as well as my curiosity and passion. My shyness, fear of conflict (core value Peace) and fluctuating self-esteem on the other hand might hold me back. That's something I need to keep my eye on.
In a previous job I had a teammate (they were a Manager) who was very difficult to work with. They weren't a very kind person and were very selfish. Everyone was kind of scared of that person. In our team meeting they were the one who spoke. If you were shy like me, your voice wasn't being heard. Thinking back, I wish I was brave enough to speak up. But nobody did, we only did it behind their back. And that didn't solve anything. I wish to believe that now I would speak up. But honestly, I'm not sure. I really don't like conflict. I would try to gather the team and speak to that person together and try to explain why their behaviour is hurting the team and try to find a solution together.
This is a journey. I'm excited to see how the human skills curriculum will help me grow as a person.