186 Part III: Opening the Toolkit
Lee is an amateur club golfer with a passionate desire to launch his career on
the international circuit. He believes that he has the same potential as his top
golfing heroes and can create a living as a professional golfer. Such beliefs
drive his capability and he’s highly competent in his game. His beliefs also
drive his behaviours – he can be found determinedly practising on the golf
course most days of the year and he works at developing relationships with
the media and sponsors. His beliefs also determine the environment where
he spends much of his time – when not on the golf course, he’s working out
in the gym.
Over time Lee has come to understand the harsh reality of life on the compet-
itive sports circuit and what he has to give up in order to pursue his dream.
Checking how pursuing his dream impacts his ability to have other important
things in his life, such as his own home, encouraged him to evolve his beliefs
and values. So alongside the primary goal to reach the top, he’s also develop-
ing new skills as a fitness and golf instructor, believing that he needs a range
of career options if he’s also going to be able to earn the money to have his
own home and family as well as a precarious career in the game he loves.
Values are the things that are important to you, what motivates you to get
out of bed in the morning, or not – criteria such as health, wealth, or hap-
piness. Beliefs and values, and the way people rank them in order of impor-
tance, are different for each person and change over time. For this reason,
motivating a whole team of people with the same approach is extremely dif-
ficult. One size doesn’t fit all as regards beliefs and values.
Values are also rules that keep people on the socially acceptable road. You
may seek money, but your values of honesty and respect for others stop
you from stealing cash. Sometimes, a conflict exists between two important
values – such as family life and work. You can read more about fixing this
problem in Chapter 3.
In terms of making change, understanding your beliefs and values offers
huge leverage. When people value something or believe it enough, that value
becomes an energising force for change. They’re concentrating on what’s
truly important to them, doing what they really want to be doing, and becom-
ing closer to who they want to be. These people are in a place that feels right
and natural. Beliefs and values drive you and influence the lower levels of
capability, behaviour, and environment. So, by sticking to your values, other
logical levels begin to come into alignment.
Often we coach people who move from one job to another with increasing
dissatisfaction and are desperate to find a job they love. IT director John is a
case in point. Every two years or so he’d get fed up, decide that he needed a
change, and apply for another, similar, job with more money, a better benefits
package, and in a new location, hoping that things would be better somewhere
else. He simply made changes at the environmental level – new company, new
country, and new people.
