TBL: Are You in Professional Alignment With Your Core Values?

Our careers must reflect our core values if we want fulfillment

One of the worst feelings you can have in your professional life is the feeling of constant friction.

You might be successful by all the traditional markers, but everything feels draining, or difficult. You feel like you have nothing left at the end of each day and regularly spend nights replaying work situations that frustrated you.

That tension often isn’t about your boss, your workload, or even your paycheck. It’s about something deeper: a misalignment between your career and your personal core values.

I’ve spent the past decade helping individuals and organizations clarify and live by their core values. Over and over, I’ve seen that when someone’s professional life is in alignment with their values, work feels fulfilling, and time flies. When there’s a clash with their values, even a prestigious, high-paying job can feel like a nightmare.

There are two main ways values misalignment presents in your career:

• You are in the wrong profession or type/line of work entirely.

• You may be in the right role, but at the wrong company.

Let’s explore both conflicts and how to address them.