Using Your Values, Purpose, Vision and Motivated Abilities to Make Career Choices
Professional Development: Self-Discovery in Action explores how we can use what we learn about ourselves to make choices that shape our working lives.
In Professional Development: What Is Self-Discovery?, Albert, head of operations at a regional water company in the north of England, had begun to understand himself differently. By writing, questioning and rewriting his Success, Passion and Failure Stories, he had recognised the values that shaped his decisions, the contribution that gave his work meaning, the future he wanted to explore and the abilities he most wanted to use.
But understanding these things in reflection was one thing.
Using them to make a decision that could change his working life was another.
When an opportunity arose to move into a bigger role, Albert found himself returning to the questions he had been exploring.
This time, the answers mattered in a practical way. He had to decide whether the opportunity was right for him, what he wanted from his next professional chapter and how he could tell the difference between a role that looked good and one that genuinely fitted what he had discovered about himself.
His self-discovery was about to be tested.
When an Opportunity Looks Right on Paper
The opportunity arrived through Stuart, a former colleague who knew Albert’s experience and thought he would be well suited to a director’s role at a large national utility.
The role was director of network strategy. It offered greater responsibility, a higher salary and the chance to influence decisions at a more strategic level.
It would make use of the knowledge and experience he had developed over the years.
The organisation had an excellent reputation, and the position appeared to offer exactly the kind of progression that would make sense at this stage of his career.
Albert was interested.
He could picture himself in the role.
He imagined the satisfaction of being trusted with greater responsibility and the opportunities that might follow.
Part of him wondered whether he would be foolish not to pursue it.
Yet he had learnt enough about himself to know that he needed to look beyond the job title, salary and prospects.
He decided to explore it properly.
He had previously accepted opportunities because they represented progress, only to discover later that the work did not give him the satisfaction he had anticipated.
He had succeeded in those roles, and the experience had added to his knowledge and capabilities.
But success had not necessarily meant that the work was right for him.
He didn’t want to repeat that experience simply because this opportunity appeared attractive.
This time, he wanted to understand what he was choosing and why.
Asking Questions That Matter
As Albert considered the role, he began asking himself questions that went beyond whether he could do the job.
The questions brought him back to the experiences he had examined during his self-discovery.
What do I want to be different about my working life?
Albert wanted more opportunities to help people understand difficult situations, bring different perspectives together and find ways forward.
What do I know about the work that gives me the greatest satisfaction?
He recognised that he found the greatest satisfaction in helping people work through difficulties, understand different perspectives and find solutions, as he had on the night of the flood. He also recalled how much he valued trust, fairness and the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution.
Which of my abilities do I most want to use?
He wanted to use his ability to understand complex situations, listen to different viewpoints and help people find a way forward. He had the experience and capabilities the role required, but he questioned whether the work would allow him to use these motivated abilities in the ways he most valued.
What do I want my contribution to be?
He wanted to use his experience to help people understand problems more clearly, contribute to meaningful decisions and develop their capacity to find solutions.
He began to consider whether the new role would allow him to work in ways that reflected his values and make the kind of contribution he wanted to make.
What might I have to give up to take this opportunity?
Albert began to recognise that, although the role offered progression, accepting it might mean spending less time doing the work he found most meaningful and moving further away from his vision for the future.
The position involved influencing strategic decisions, but the more Albert learnt about it, the more he realised that much of the work would involve defending established positions, managing competing interests and delivering decisions that had already been made elsewhere.
He could do those things.
He had the experience and capabilities the role required.
But he began to question whether doing them day after day would allow him to use his motivated abilities in the ways he most valued.
He also considered his vision for the future. He wanted to use his experience to help people and organisations understand problems more clearly, make meaningful decisions and develop their capacity to find solutions.
The role offered progression, but he was less certain that it would take him towards that vision.
For the first time, Albert was evaluating an opportunity against a clearer understanding of himself, rather than relying on conventional measures of career success.
Looking Beyond His Own Perspective
Albert recognised that he couldn’t make a well-informed decision simply by reflecting on the role in isolation.
He needed to understand what the work was actually like and how the people doing it experienced it.
He arranged a conversation with Patricia, the chief operating officer responsible for the appointment, and asked about the decisions the successful candidate would influence, the relationships they would need to develop and the challenges they were likely to encounter.
He listened carefully to the answers and asked further questions when something was unclear.
He also spoke to Stuart, who had worked at the organisation for several years and understood its culture.
Rather than asking whether it was a good place to work, he wanted to understand how people worked together, how differences of opinion were handled and whether individuals had the opportunity to influence decisions.
The conversations gave him information he could not have obtained from the job description alone.
Albert then considered the feedback he had received from colleagues over the years.
Kofi had once told him that he was the only person who made everyone in the room feel heard. Bev had said that after the flood, her team trusted head office again because he had listened to them.
People had often valued his ability to listen, bring different perspectives together and help them make sense of difficult situations.
He had begun to recognise these as motivated abilities because they were activities he was naturally drawn to and wanted to use.
The feedback helped him see that these abilities were not simply useful additions to his professional expertise.
They were an important part of the contribution he wanted to make.
Questioning His Assumptions
The conversations had given Albert a clearer picture of the role, but he still needed to consider what the information meant for his decision.
He asked himself: Was I giving enough weight to the advantages of this role, or was I concentrating too much on the aspects that concerned me?
He recognised that the role offered genuine benefits: greater responsibility, a higher salary and the opportunity to influence strategic decisions. These were all things he valued, and he could understand why the opportunity appealed to him. But he also had to consider what the conversations had revealed about the work itself. Much of it would involve defending established positions, managing competing interests and delivering decisions made elsewhere, leaving less room for the work he found most satisfying.
What might I be overlooking?
He considered whether he was dismissing the role too quickly because some aspects did not appeal to him. He had learnt that every role involved compromises, and he needed to distinguish between the challenges he would be willing to accept and those that would take him away from the contribution he wanted to make. The question was not whether the role had disadvantages, but whether its advantages outweighed what he might have to give up.
Was I judging this opportunity against what I had learnt about myself, or against my assumptions about what professional success should look like?
He realised that the title, salary and status had initially made the role seem like the natural next step. Yet these measures of progression could not tell him whether the work would allow him to use his motivated abilities, reflect his values and move towards his vision for the future.
By questioning his assumptions and weighing the information he had gathered against his own experience, Albert was able to give himself more effective feedback. He could recognise the genuine attractions of the opportunity without allowing them to overshadow what he was learning about its suitability for him.
As he brought these perspectives together, the role became less attractive.
It was not a bad opportunity.
Nor was Albert incapable of succeeding in it.
It simply did not appear to offer the kind of working life he had begun to identify as important to him.
Turning Experiences into Stories
Albert returned to the stories he had written, questioned and rewritten during his self-discovery, this time with a specific question in mind: Would the role he was considering allow him to do more of the work he had found most meaningful?
As he read his stories again, he explored what they revealed about his values, the abilities he had drawn on, what he found meaningful and what he had learnt from situations that had not gone as he would have wished. He then considered what these insights told him about the role he was considering and whether it would give him opportunities to work in ways that mattered to him.
His Success Story
The Situation: The winter the river burst its banks, the network engineers, led by Kofi, wanted to shut down a pumping station to protect it. Bev, who ran customer services, knew that would leave thousands of homes without water. Ian, the council’s emergency planner, needed answers within the hour. For the first few hours, each of them defended their own position.
What I Did: I brought them into one room and asked each of them what they were most afraid would happen. Then I listened, and helped them hear one another. By midnight, we had a plan none of us could have found alone: a phased shutdown, with water stations set up first in the streets that needed them most.
What It Revealed: I find the greatest satisfaction in helping people listen to one another, share what they know and find a solution together.
As Albert read the story back, he recognised what had mattered to him. He had enjoyed helping people work through a difficult situation, not simply because the plan had worked, but because he had helped people reach a decision together.
He considered the role he was thinking of applying for. It would involve influencing strategic decisions, but the conversations he had already had suggested that much of the work would involve defending established positions, managing competing interests and delivering decisions made elsewhere.
Would I have the opportunity to bring people together to explore different perspectives, or would I spend most of my time defending decisions that had already been made?
The distinction mattered. He wanted to influence decisions by helping people understand the issues and find solutions, not simply by arguing for an established position.
His Passion Story
The Situation: A major repair to a water main had fallen weeks behind, and the residents affected had been told it would be finished by the end of the month. They had already been told twice before that the work would be finished soon. Martin preferred to wait until a new date was certain before saying anything. Waiting would have been easier, but I believed it would mean compromising my judgement.
What I Did: I asked Martin for a meeting and explained why I believed the residents deserved to know now. Then I wrote to them myself that week, telling them what we knew and what we didn’t yet know.
What It Revealed: I’m prepared to stand by my judgement when people deserve the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable. Trust matters to me, and it’s built by being honest when it’s difficult.
As Albert considered this story, he recognised that his values were not simply principles he believed in. They influenced the decisions he made and the actions he was prepared to take.
He thought of what Stuart had told him about the national utility: difficult news was often held back until every detail had been agreed.
He asked himself whether the new role would allow him to work in ways that reflected his values, particularly when decisions were difficult or different perspectives needed to be heard.
His Failure Story
The Situation: A few years earlier, two depots were merged. Some of the longest-serving staff, people who knew every pipe in the valley, were moved into roles that made no use of what they knew. The decision was made without asking them, and trust between the depots and head office took years to rebuild.
What I Did: I heard about the plans weeks before they were announced. I had doubts, but I kept them to myself. I raised my concerns only after the decision had been made.
What It Revealed: Fairness matters to me, and people affected by a decision need to be heard before it’s made, not after. When I see a decision coming that will overlook people, I need to speak up sooner.
The reorganisation had not been a failure of his own making. But writing it had helped him recognise how strongly he valued fairness, trust and meaningful contribution, and the part he could play in making sure people were heard.
He began to ask himself: What could I learn from this experience about how people need to work together? What might I do differently when I encountered a similar situation again?
He recognised that failure could teach him about the circumstances in which things went wrong, the values that had been compromised and how he might contribute to improving a situation. The important thing was not simply to look back at what had gone wrong, but to consider what he could take forward.
As Albert considered the role, he asked himself whether its culture and approach to decision-making would allow him to uphold his values of fairness and trust, and help people work through difficulties constructively. He couldn’t know exactly how every aspect of the role would work, but the information he had gathered suggested that these opportunities might be limited. In a role delivering decisions made elsewhere, he might find himself in the same position again: knowing what was coming, with little chance to change it.
By returning to his stories and asking these questions, Albert could evaluate the opportunity against something more meaningful than its title, salary or status. He could see the difference between being capable of doing the work and wanting to spend his working life doing it.
What he identified as missing was not greater responsibility or the opportunity to influence decisions. It was the opportunity to use his abilities in the way that mattered most to him: helping people understand difficult situations, bring perspectives together and find their own way forward.
Albert realised that turning his experiences into stories was more than a way of remembering what had happened. It helped him examine what those experiences meant, recognise what they revealed about him and use that understanding when making decisions.
His Success, Passion and Failure Stories were becoming a resource for self-discovery, helping him explain not only what he had done, but the kind of work he wanted to do and the contribution he wanted to make.
When the Right Decision Is to Say No
Albert found himself facing a tension.
He was considering turning down an opportunity that appeared to represent a positive career move. The role offered greater responsibility, a higher salary and the prospect of career progression.
He also had to acknowledge the possibility that he was giving up something valuable.
Yet through his journey of self-discovery, he had learnt that these advantages did not necessarily mean the opportunity was right for him.
He wanted to be sure that his decision reflected what he had learnt about himself. Was he turning down the role because it did not fit his values and aspirations, or was there something about the opportunity he had not yet fully considered?
That evening, he and Grace walked along the river, and he talked it through.”
She listened, and then asked him the questions he had been avoiding.
What would accepting the role make possible?
It would give him the chance to test himself at a more strategic level, broaden his understanding of how decisions were made across an organisation and discover whether he could influence outcomes beyond his immediate area of responsibility.
What would it make less possible?
It would take him further from the kind of professional life he wanted to build, making it harder to give time and attention to the aspects of work he found most worthwhile.
And if he imagined himself in the position a year from now, what did he think he would value most about the experience?
He sensed he would value the experience he had gained and the opportunity to influence decisions. But he also wondered whether, a year later, he would find himself questioning why he had chosen a role that offered progression without giving him enough opportunity to do the work he found most meaningful.
The questions helped him distinguish between uncertainty about the future and a growing recognition that the opportunity was not right for him.
He also considered the decision against his vision. He wanted to move towards work that allowed him to make a meaningful contribution through collaboration, problem-solving and helping people develop their understanding. The role might advance his career in conventional terms, but it did not appear to offer the direction he wanted.
Albert decided not to pursue it.
The next morning, he rang Stuart to thank him and explain why.
The decision wasn’t easy, and he didn’t pretend that he could know exactly what would happen next. But he understood why he had made it. He was no longer measuring progress solely by what an opportunity offered on paper. He was considering what it would allow him to contribute, how it would use his abilities and whether it would take him towards the working life he wanted to create.
His self-discovery had helped him make a decision he could explain to himself and stand behind.
Recognising What the Right Opportunity Looks Like
Several weeks later, another role came to his attention.
At first glance, it appeared less impressive than the one he had declined. The title, head of operations, was familiar, the salary was competitive rather than exceptional and the organisation was smaller: a flood partnership that brought together water companies, councils, farmers and community groups across the region to reduce the risk of flooding.
It didn’t offer the same obvious status or promise of rapid progression.
But the more Albert learnt about it, the more interested he became.
The role involved working with people across different organisations, helping them address complex problems and improving the way teams collaborated. There would be opportunities to influence decisions, develop relationships and help colleagues find solutions rather than simply implement decisions made elsewhere.
Albert recognised elements of the working life he had been trying to describe.
He thought of the night of the flood, and the people around one table finding a way forward together.
He began asking the same questions he had used to evaluate the previous opportunity, this time exploring how the role might align with his values, purpose, vision and motivated abilities.
He spoke with the people involved, explored the challenges the organisation faced and considered what he might learn from the experience.
Would he have the opportunity to contribute in ways that mattered to him?
Would the work draw on the abilities he wanted to use?
Would the organisation’s culture allow him to work in a way that reflected his values?
Would the role give him opportunities to learn, develop new capabilities and stretch himself professionally?
Could the role help him move towards the vision he had begun to develop?
Albert considered what he had learnt about the role and how it compared with the working life he wanted to create.
He was beginning to recognise that a good fit meant finding work that aligned with what mattered to him while offering opportunities to develop, contribute and take on meaningful challenges.
This role appeared to offer that combination.
Self-discovery had helped Albert recognise not just what he wanted from his working life, but how to recognise an opportunity that could help him achieve it.
Using Self-Coaching to Prepare for the Interview
Albert applied for the job, was invited to interview and began to prepare.
He had identified what attracted him to the role. He wanted to work across different organisations, help people tackle complex problems and improve the way teams collaborated. But he had learnt from his previous experience that an attractive opportunity didn’t always translate into the kind of work he wanted to do.
He asked himself: What am I assuming about this role that I have not yet established?
He knew the partnership wanted someone who could influence decisions and improve collaboration. But did that mean he would have the freedom to bring people together and explore different approaches, or would he be expected to deliver decisions that had already been made? He couldn’t answer that from the job description or the conversations he had had so far.
He then asked himself: What would I need to understand to judge whether this role would allow me to make the contribution I want to make?
He realised he needed to understand how the partnership dealt with complex problems in practice. He wanted to know what happened when its members disagreed, how different perspectives were considered and how much influence someone in this position could have over the way a problem was resolved.
As he worked through these questions, Albert recognised that he was not simply looking for reassurance that he had made the right choice in pursuing the role. He needed to remain open to answers that might challenge his initial enthusiasm, just as he had done when evaluating the previous opportunity.
He began to see the interview differently. It was not only an opportunity to explain what he could offer the organisation. It was also a chance to discover whether the work would allow him to use his abilities in the ways he valued and move towards the professional future he wanted to create.
Self-discovery had helped Albert understand what mattered to him.
Self-coaching had helped him identify what he needed to find out. He could now approach the interview with a clearer purpose, ready to listen to the answers and consider what they meant for his decision.
From Self-Discovery to Self-Directing
The interview panel was made up of Joanne, the partnership’s chief executive, and Peter, the chair of its board.
When the interview began, Albert had a clearer idea of what he wanted to communicate and what he needed to discover.
He wanted Joanne and Peter to understand not only what he had achieved, but how he approached his work, what guided his decisions and the contribution he could make. He had his experience to draw on, and he now had a more considered way of explaining it.
When Joanne asked him to describe a situation in which he had helped resolve a difficult problem, he returned to his Success Story. He told them about the night of the flood, and the moment he had asked each person what they were most afraid would happen. Rather than simply describing the successful outcome, he explained how he had contributed to it and what he had learnt from the experience.
As he spoke, Albert recognised that his story gave them a clearer understanding of how he worked. It also helped him explain the kind of contribution he wanted to make in the new role.
Other questions gave him opportunities to draw on his Passion and Failure Stories.
He described the delayed repair, and the decision to tell the residents the truth, even though it meant an uncomfortable conversation. He explained why the decision had mattered to him and how it reflected his values.
He also talked about the reorganisation: how he had kept his doubts to himself until it was too late, what it had taught him about fairness and trust, and how he now spoke up before decisions were made.
Together, his three stories helped him communicate more than his achievements. They showed what he valued, what influenced his decisions, how he responded to difficulties and what he had learnt from experience.
He didn’t need to rehearse a perfect answer to every possible question. Instead, he could draw on his experiences, reflect on what they revealed and explain what he had learnt. His stories helped him communicate his experience in a way that was both specific and meaningful.
Albert also remained attentive to what he was learning about the organisation. When Joanne described the challenges facing the partnership, he listened carefully, considering what her answers revealed about how people worked together, how decisions were made and how much opportunity the successful candidate would have to influence outcomes.
He had prepared questions of his own:
How did the partnership work through disagreements when different perspectives could not easily be reconciled?
Joanne described an approach in which members listened to different viewpoints, explored the concerns behind them and worked together to find common ground.
How were decisions reached when people had competing priorities?
Peter explained that decisions involved bringing the relevant people together, considering different priorities and agreeing on a way forward.
What opportunity would someone in this role have to bring people together, explore different approaches and influence the way problems were resolved?
They described opportunities to work across organisations, facilitate discussions and help colleagues develop solutions that reflected different perspectives.
He wanted to understand how the role would work in practice, not simply to demonstrate that he was interested in the position.
When he needed clarification, he asked further questions and listened carefully to the answers.
As the conversation developed, Albert recognised that he was doing more than responding to interview questions. He was using what he had learnt about himself to decide what to communicate, what to explore and what he needed to understand before making a decision.
He was also conscious that, while he couldn’t control the outcome of the interview, he had prepared thoughtfully and was now communicating his experience clearly and asking questions that mattered to him. Although the decision would not be his alone, he had done everything within his control in how he approached the conversation and used the opportunity to learn.
This was self-directing in practice. Albert was no longer relying on the interviewers to determine what he should emphasise or judging his performance solely by whether he impressed them. He was taking responsibility for communicating what he could offer, exploring what he needed to understand and considering whether the role would allow him to make the contribution he wanted to make.
Self-discovery had helped Albert understand what mattered to him. Self-coaching had helped him prepare, question his assumptions and identify what he needed to find out. Self-directing enabled him to bring these insights into the interview, drawing on his experiences, listening attentively, responding thoughtfully and directing his attention towards what mattered most.
He left the interview with more information to consider. He still had to wait for the organisation’s decision, but he had approached the conversation with a clearer sense of purpose and a better understanding of what he needed from his next professional chapter.
Making the Decision: Self-Leadership in Action
When Joanne rang to offer him the role, Albert recognised that it was an opportunity to move towards the working life he wanted to create.
His self-discovery had helped him understand what mattered to him. Self-coaching had enabled him to question his assumptions and explore what he needed from a role. Self-directing had helped him take an active part in the interview, communicating his experience, asking questions and listening carefully to what he learnt.
Now he needed to act on what he had discovered.
Albert knew that taking the role would bring new challenges. He would need to understand the partnership, build relationships and find ways to contribute effectively. He was ready to take responsibility for his development, remain open to feedback and adjust his approach as he learnt more about the people he worked with and the organisation itself.
That evening, he and Grace walked along the quayside again.
This time, when she asked him what he wanted his work to be like, he had an answer.
Albert accepted the offer.
For Albert, this was self-leadership in action: using what he had learnt about himself to make a considered decision, taking responsibility for his direction and being prepared to act on it.
He hadn’t simply chosen a job that looked like progress. He had chosen an opportunity that reflected what mattered to him and moved him towards the professional future he wanted to create.
Using Self-Discovery to Shape Your Next Career Move
Albert’s experience shows how understanding yourself can change the way you approach career decisions. Rather than measuring an opportunity by its title, salary or status alone, you can consider whether it reflects your values, makes use of your motivated abilities and moves you towards the working life you want to create.
When an opportunity comes your way, you can ask yourself:
What would this role make possible, and what would it make less possible?
Would it let me work in a way that reflects my values?
Would it allow me to use the abilities I most enjoy using?
Would it take me closer to the future I want, or further away?
What do my Success, Passion and Failure Stories tell me about whether it’s right for me?
You may not know exactly where your choices will lead. But by asking yourself the right questions, examining the possibilities and taking responsibility for your decisions, you can make more considered choices about what comes next.
Professional self-discovery is an ongoing process.
As you gain experience and encounter new opportunities, you can return to what you have learnt about yourself, reflect on what matters now and use that understanding to guide your next steps.
In the next story, Professional Development: Self-Discovery at Work, Albert discovers how to put his self-knowledge into practice, contribute to his new role and help others develop. (Coming soon)
Continue the Work
If Albert’s story has prompted you to reflect on your own working life, these resources offer different ways to explore what matters to you, recognise your strengths and consider what comes next.
Explore Professional Development — stories and reflections on professional development, learning and the experiences that shape our working lives.
Explore The Art of WorkLife Storytelling – discover how the stories we tell about our experiences can help us understand ourselves, recognise what matters and use what we learn to shape our working lives.
Explore Self-Discovery Story Lessons — practical, story-based resources that help you reflect on your experiences, understand yourself more clearly and apply what you learn to your working life.
Explore Self-Discovery Programmes — Follow a guided learning journey to explore your core values, purpose, vision and motivated abilities, and align your professional and personal choices with what matters most to you.
Explore Professional Self-Coaching Resources — Work through focused resources that help you ask yourself the right questions, find your own answers and take action on what you learn.
Explore Individual WorkLife Coaching — when you need space to think with someone else about your working life, a difficult situation, a decision or what comes next, dedicated coaching sessions help you explore what matters, see your situation differently and find your own way forward.
Work With Me: Individual WorkLife Coaching, Commissioned Learning Resources, Speaking Engagements and Organisational Partnerships
Support This Work: Your support makes a difference and helps me to continue creating resources that are accessible to everyone. Thank you. Carmel
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