One of the most common places leaders get stuck is in the search for the “right” answer. We may be looking for: the right career move, the correct response to a difficult colleague, or the best way to handle a situation that has no clear resolution.

In my coaching work, I see this pattern consistently, and what I have noticed is that “right” is sometimes code for something else. It usually means: what will protect me from guilt, shame, or regret?

Here is the reframe I offer: stop looking for the right thing to do and start looking for the most aligned thing to do.

Your core values are not abstract ideals to hang on a vision board. They are a decision-making framework. When you know what you actually value, not what you were taught to value or what looks good on paper, but what genuinely matters to you in this season of life, decisions tend to get cleaner. They may not get easier, necessarily, just cleaner because you have a reference point that uniquely belongs to you.

The freedom in this approach is significant. When you make a decision from a place of honest alignment with your values, you release yourself from the grip of misplaced guilt and second-guessing. You may not always get the outcome you hoped for, but you can stand behind the decision because it came from an authentic place. What more can we really ask of ourselves?

This also means that core values need to be revisited. Who you were five years ago is not necessarily who you are now. Values evolve as we do, and a set of values that no longer reflects your current self will lead you straight back into that stuck, searching feeling.

If you are ready to get clear on what you actually value right now, a liberation playbook can help you start that process. And if you want more structured guidance with activities designed to help you identify and apply your core values, then the Identifying Your Core Values mini-course supports you through exactly that.

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