protest marchBy C. Roberts, Fifth Discipline Fieldbook

This exercise is designed to help you reach a better understanding of your most significant values.

Step 1: What I Value Most…
From this list of values (both work and personal), select the ten that are most important to you-as guides for how to behave, or as components of a valued way of life. Feel free to add any values of your own to this list.

Achievement Friendships Physical challenge
Advancement and promotion Growth Pleasure
Adventure Having a family Power and authority
Affection (love and caring) Helping other people Privacy
Arts Helping society Public service
Challenging problems Honesty Purity
Change and variety Independence Quality of what I take part in
Close relationships Influencing others Quality relationships
Community Inner harmony Recognition (respect from others, status)
Competence Integrity Religion
Competition Intellectual status Reputation
Cooperation Involvement Responsibility and accountability
Country Job tranquillity Security
Creativity Knowledge Self-respect
Decisiveness Leadership Serenity
Democracy Location Sophistication
Ecological awareness Loyalty Stability
Economic security Market position Status
Effectiveness Meaningful work Supervising others
Efficiency Merit Time freedom
Ethical practice Money Truth
Excellence Nature Wealth
Excitement being around people who
are open and honest		 Wisdom
Fame Order (tranquillity,
stability, conformity)		 Work under pressure
Fast living Personal development Work with others
Financial gain Freedom Working alone

 

Step 2: Elimination

Now that you have identified ten, imagine that you are only permitted to have five values. Which five would you give up? Cross them off.

Now imagine that you are only permitted four. Which would you give up? Cross it off.

Now cross off another, to bring our list down to three.

And another, to bring our list down to two.

Finally cross off one of your two values. Which is the one item on the list that you care most about?

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