Activating your values. Our sense of purpose, our dream, combined with our values are often what propels us into the work of social change. Our beliefs and values are based on our life experience, and we seek to put them out into the world through a practice of social change. The beliefs and values inform why, and how we do our work. There are a few dynamics that might unfold as we do this. Sometimes we will go into leadership or work quite clear about our dreams and values. We can name them, and we understand them. But then as we get into the work, people and things challenge us complexity and confusion arise. There are social forces working against our values, there is important information about the impact of how we've transformed our dream and values into action. There is a lot of other noise and opinion, all of this shows up. And what we might find in these moments is that we have too few tools to find center, to discern what we're learning about our values in action, and to decide how to proceed. And so we become overwhelmed. We might rigidly and dogmatically double down on our values as we know them, we might succumb to the noise of the values and the systems around us, we might rationalize our choices about our values and ways to deny the learning in front of us, or something else might happen. Another thing that sometimes unfolds is that we begin to lead with a hunch about our beliefs and values, a felt sense of intuition or motivation. But as we begin, we are confronted with all of that noise, complexity, chaos. And we realize that we haven't fully named and defined what matters most to us. When we don't know how to name that felt sense. And we don't have the tools to begin to name and define those values that motivate us, it can be hard to remember why we're doing what we're doing, or to remember what matters to us when we're making choices. There are many tools in the leaders toolbox, but in my experience, both personally and in accompanying others, values are both the ground a leader of social change rests upon and the star they use to propel them forward amidst volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. Knowing and naming your values provides space for rest and fuel for action. So this section of the course will invite you to name your values, to put them into action and to create practices for aligning to your values in an ongoing way. There are a few definitional ideas that I think are important as we begin. Values are not only beliefs about what matters most to us as leaders, they are practices activated in relationship to our dream others and life itself. In this sense, our values are engaged dynamically and in the present moment. Though they need to be clear and known to us and others, they are not rigid or static. I find it helpful to call forth the idea of love as a verb here, we might value love, love might really matter to us. And leading with a value of love is not an act of waiting to feel it or expecting to have it. It is practicing it exploring all of the ways love manifests itself in our choices and actions, and observing all of the ways we see love manifest itself and others choices and actions. The next idea that is helpful and important here is that activating values and leadership requires choice and focus. We all have many values, there are many things to believe are important. In looking at a values list, we might think well, all of them. We can and do value many things as human beings. But, and this is a real but, if we try to lead with all of the values, we will end up leading with none. There is many a researcher and leadership Guru has made the point over and over again, leading is about making choices and one of the most important choices you will make as a leader is about what matters most to you. What one or two values in action hold and guide all of the many things in life that are important to you. I will confess that I personally have had a very hard time with this over the years in particular as I have sought alignment personally and professionally. That said, it is one of the most important lessons I've learned in my own leadership. Values need to drive choices and actions so they have to be focused and clear. The fundamental question of your core values is about refining and honing in on the essential grounding and guiding principles of your life and leadership. Importantly, when we turn to putting values into action with a team, there needs to be space for the expression of your core values and the values of the team or the organization. But they don't need to be the exact same values. There may be times where this creates a dilemma for individuals on the team, and that's okay. As long as people can find the space for their values to be enacted within the team's values, then there can be difficult conversations that support discerning action together. That said, if your core values fundamentally misaligned or conflict to your team's values, your leadership will either become about navigating that conflict, or potentially being silenced by it. The third idea that's important here, and that I've already nodded to is that your core values span your whole life. If your core values are different at home, at work, at the synagogue at the gym, then you're promoting disconnection and division in your life. And you'll find yourself tired. If you decide that creativity and beauty are your two core values. This doesn't mean you don't love your family. It means that you show love to your family, through engaging in practices and actions that you link to creativity and beauty. If you define love and compassion as your core values, it doesn't mean that you can't pursue efficiency in your workplace. It means that love and compassion will guide you in that pursuit. And the last note that I'd like to make here is that social change work often comes with a set of presumptive values. There are values in the waters of social change that are part of what draws us to the work itself. The water is infused with values of equity and justice making a difference in perseverance. Other things too, I'm sure. The world we live in, is not values neutral. Whether it is the social change sector, or the dominant culture we live in, values are part of the cultures and communities we engage in. An essential part of you, defining your values from the inside out, is to guide how when and why you swim in the waters around you. Your values become a way of navigating and discerning how to be in relationship with the people and communities around you with authenticity, integrity, courage, honesty, connection, compassion. So the activities and reflections in this section offer you ways of naming your values and beginning to define and refine them through your choices and actions. Allow yourself the space and time and practice with the reflections as you go. Notice and allow what shows up. Invite self inquiry and self understanding to motivate you, what's inside of you. What's yours? How are those things different from what's around you? How are they different from what you've been taught to identify with, but doesn't feel like your own expression.