Top tip: Working within your values

If you’ve looked at our article Authentic leadership – a starter for ten, you’ll have read about an exercise that helps identify your values. You can check that you’re working within these values as much as possible by thinking about energy levels. This is because a lack of energy is a classic signal that you’re not working in a way that is consistent with your values.

One approach to this is to fill in the grid below. First, think about times in the recent past when you’ve been full of energy, and other times when you’ve really struggled to get going. Then fill in the positive and negative boxes with these examples.

After that, fill in the ‘patterns’ column alongside, thinking about these four questions:

• What type of occasion makes me most energetic?
• What type of situation saps my energy and well-being?
• How can I achieve more of the good examples?
• How can I avoid the energy-sapping examples?

Hopefully your table will give you a clearer idea of why some jobs give you energy. You’ll then be able to use those positive elements more often, and approach the jobs that sap your energy in a new and more fulfilling way.