My boss, Liimu McGill, lives by a set of leadership principles that she has been mentoring me in called Intuitive Leadership. At the heart of this framework is the concept of living and working from a place of values.
While we all have values that we strive to live by, not many take a proactive approach in developing and infusing these values in what we do...
Choosing Some Values
To simplify this aspect of the Intuitive Leadership process I'll break things down into the general steps, so you can explore and make it your own. (If you're looking for a comprehensive corporate training on the subject, feel free to contact us here.)
The first goal is to choose which values you want to work on most. You can find a list of values online and see what (intuitively) jumps out at you, or just see what comes to mind.
Choose 3-10 values that you'll be happy to infuse into your daily life.
The Playing Fields
Choose one value to start working with. I like to build a habit with one (or maybe two) values before moving on to working with a new one. This keeps me from becoming overwhelmed or simply forgetting.
Think of some important areas in your life. They can be as simple as 'work', 'family' and 'hobbies' —or a little more specific, such as 'talking to my significant other', 'practicing martial arts', or 'interacting with my co-workers'.
Think of things you do on a daily basis, or at least on most days.
Infusing Your Actions
Now, within each of those categories, choose 1-2 actions or changes that you can make that would be a reflection of the value you've chosen to work on.
For example... if the value you chose to work on was 'Kindness' and your categories were the ones listed below, you might come up with:
1) Talking to my significant other — Share one thing I really appreciate about him/her
2) Practicing Martial Arts — Give myself a foot massage after training session (being kind to your body)
3) Interacting with My Coworkers — Sincerely thank a coworker
Get Your Dopamine Flowing!
You can create a checklist to stay accountable and make it a goal to do each of the above once per day. Doing so will create a discernible path and milestones, which will activate your body's dopamine response. Without this concrete goal, the brain will not know when to reward you, and it will be much more difficult to develop a habit.
Using this method is an easy way to move towards embodying the values you truly hold dear. While we are all growing if we have set our intention too, taking a conscious, proactive role can only expedite the process. In addition, you'll feel great as you become aware of the changes that are transforming your life!
Journaling/Reflection Prompt
Choose a value and complete the process above. Then, see if you can immediately complete one of your value infused actions!