When I was life coaching, the most powerful tool I had available to help my clients, was core values.
So much so, that I spent over a decade refining and improving on a process to put in a book I called The Clarity Method.
Core values are the holy grail of effective coaching.
Knowing a client’s core values helps you understand what makes them tick more than clever questioning ever can.
And it’s not even close.
Knowing your clients’ core values helps you see the world through their eyes.
And that’s crucial to being a successful and productive coach.
As coaches, it isn’t our job to impose our worldview upon a client but, wherever possible, use theirs.
Knowing a client’s goals can be useful, but goals are utterly superficial if you have no idea what values are driving those goals.
For the clients, the benefits are even greater.
Knowing their values allows them to get an understanding of why they sometimes procrastinate, why certain jobs and/or roles are simply not right for them, and why they like some people and not others.
It was core values that finally helped me understand corporate sales just wasn’t right for me as I put a high value on integrity and not many sales organisations do.
It also allows them, with conscious awareness, to tap into motivation at a moment’s notice by shifting focus to their core values.
I’ve no clue whether souls actually exist, but if they do, then core values are as close as you can get to see into one.
Help Ukraine and become a better coach at the same time
If you’re as sickened by events in Ukraine as I am, then that’s because what Putin is doing is at odds with your core values.
The sad fact is that his behaviour is anathema to so many values from peace to empathy and from tolerance to integrity.
You’d have to be an utter douche (or named Vladimir Putin) not to have a bunch of value conflicts, hence the world’s outrage.
Like many people, I feel the urge to register my disgust by trying to help in whatever small way I can.
I think The Clarity Method is a highly useful book for any coach, and as somewhere in the region of 1,000 coaches use it with clients, I presume they agree.
Only this morning I received this lovely email:
I have devoured your book – The Clarity Method, and really just want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU!
I am particularly interested in identity and how identity drives behaviour, yet all the study and work I have done on values has often left me more confused than when I started. This method of yours is crystal clear – there is no confusion, and it just flows. I understand my values so much better now, and have no doubt that I will be able to help even more clients on this journey as I implement it over the next few weeks. I am truly beyond grateful.
You can read more reviews on Amazon if you so wish. – Just don’t buy it from Amazon unless you want the hard copy.
I also think it can offer massive value at an individual level to anybody who wants to understand themselves better whether they are a coach or not.
If you would like me to send you a copy for *free* here is what you have to do:
- Make a donation to an online charity of your choice that’s helping Ukrainians.
- Email tim@coachthelifecoach.com with the receipt. (I’m asking for receipts, not because I think anybody would lie to get a book on values, that would be fucking ridiculous, but to track how much we raise. If you prefer not to, then I trust you to be honest!)
- Tell me if you want the PDF or Kindle version of the book.
- I send you the book and you get to truly understand what drives and motivates you.
For every 20 people who buy a copy, I will draw out one winner who I will then personally take through the values process via Zoom up to a maximum of 10 people.
Sound like a plan?
Of course it does, and a very nice plan at that.
If you’re not sure which charity to support, this page on Charity Navigator links to all the 3 and 4-star rated charities helping Ukraine.
Go on then, go for it it’s a total win/win.
Core values are definitely a great part of coaching! Thank you for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed Jamie!
Doing a deep values clarification is the foundation of my coaching and is what my clients truly appreciate. Being trained by CTI (the CoActive) gave me this gift. Values work is necessary for truly helping your clients. And too many coaches gloss over it. Even my husband’s career coach didn’t lay out his values as I would have liked. My clients of 10 years still keep their personalized values clarification list. Kudos to you for your emphasis on this. Now it’s part of my Motivated to Marry Relationship Coach Training and Certification program.