Using a Core Values Compass to Define Success on Your Terms
- Apr 7
- 3 min read
By Paula Randler
I never thought I’d leave my federal job. My colleagues were the most dedicated, intelligent, creative, and hard working people I’d known. But even these brilliant professionals had a big blindspot: they didn’t trust themselves. As my career progressed, I noticed leaders in my organization quietly giving up their power and asking for permission in situations where permission wasn’t required. These were also times when trusting themselves would have made circumstances better for people around them and brought long-term value to the resources we were serving.
In my own life, I started looking for ways to trust myself and understand what really motivated me. I kept falling into some of the same traps that my managers had, until I examined my core values with a coach. This simple act - one 30-minute session - has guided me since. My core values help me make better-quality decisions faster and in better alignment than any decisions I made in long contemplation without core values awareness.
The ultimate test of this was having to decide in just a few hours whether to stay or go from my 17-year federal career. So I checked in with myself. Having built trust in myself over time, I believed what I saw there. I didn’t need to ask permission from anyone else. This decision to step out on my own was the most transformative of my life thus far. I made the right call, thanks to my core values compass.
Now, through transformational career coaching and executive facilitation, I help clients detach themselves from comparison by getting really clear on who they are at the root of their being. My clients get deep on what’s important (really) right now. They make tiny tweaks in their days or weeks that add up to substantial shifts in their trajectories. After our work together, my clients know who they want to be and they’re not afraid to try something new in order to become their future self. They don’t ask permission to create exceptional work. They don’t ask permission to show up as themselves. They don’t ask permission to make decisions that align with their core values, their business ethos, and their lived experience.
Leaving comparison behind happens almost automatically when we know ourselves deeply. Until then, wondering who we are, it can feel hurtful when someone does something we want for ourselves, especially if we haven’t articulated what we want yet. When we're really clear on who we are, what story we’re in, and how we define success, we can appreciate differences with our peers and celebrate the things we each do well. No competition, no rivalries, no second-guessing, no identity crisis.
I created my business and redefined success, but that's not a one-time event. Every day, I make decisions about how I spend my time, whether I want to accept this client or that one, and how to show up better for my loved ones now that I've reclaimed my time from a day job. These “choices” were built-in to my lifestyle before, predicted by my 9-5 schedule. Now I get to, and have to, decide more often.
Once you know your core values, you get to live them by asking often: How does this choice show others what my values are?
What value am I honoring by saying yes or no to this opportunity? How do my values shift over time as a result of my choices?
Articulating and defining core values can be at the very center of any transformative change. A move made using your core values compass is one you will always be proud of.
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