Balance, the goal within the goal.

When I coach, I like to ground our conversations in a set of values that come together as a personal values statement.

I call this Values-Driven Coaching.

The aim is to create a useful balance between the concrete goal someone wants to achieve and the deeper principles that make the goal worth pursuing.

Once we have identified the goal, I like to pause and ask: Why does this matter? What is it about the person who will achieve this goal that you admire?

I do this because goals sit in a possible future that is surrounded by uncertinty.

Context changes. Life happens. Serendipity sneaks in and presents choices we did not expect.

A goal gives us coordinates. A values statement gives us a compass.

When circumstances change, values offer a quick way to test the options in front of us:

• What does this mean for me now?

• Does this choice move me towards what matters?

• Does it honour the way I want to show up?

• Is this a yes, a no, or a not yet?

Clarity about a goal matters. But clarity can sometimes become rigidity.

When we pair a goal with a values statement, we are better able to adapt to challenges and opportunities without losing sight of what matters. It gives language to intuition, makes trade-offs more visible, and gives us a basis for holding ourselves accountable.

By naming our values , we have a statement to back up our gut feelings, when our gut gets things right, and the same statement can bolster us to take on the scary challenges, when our gut gets things wrong.