Latest / Career Coaching with Fexingo: Professional Coaches, Career Counselors, and Guidance for Workers / How Your Career Values Stack Prevents Regretful Decisions
Transcript
- Lucas: You're listening to Career Coaching with Fexingo. I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. Today we're talking about something I think every professional needs at some point: a Career Values Stack. Lucas: Right. A Values Stack is simply a prioritised list of what matters most to you at work. Not what you think should matter, or what your mentor says matters—what actually matters to you. Luna: And the reason it's a 'stack' is because you rank them. Number one is non-negotiable. Number two is very important, but you'd sacrifice it for number one. And so on. Lucas: Exactly. And this isn't abstract—I want to ground it in a real case. There's a senior marketing manager I'll call Priya. She had been at a mid-size consumer goods company for about four years. She was good at her job, well-liked, but she was getting restless. Luna: Restless in what way? Lucas: Two things happened almost simultaneously. First, her boss told her she was being considered for a promotion to director. That came with a significant pay bump and a bigger team. Second, a former colleague reached out about a lateral move at a smaller company—same title, same pay roughly, but with a four-day workweek and fully remote. Luna: So a classic trade-off: money and status versus time and autonomy. Lucas: Classic, but paralyzing. Priya went back and forth for weeks. She'd lean toward the promotion, then wake up dreading the longer hours. She'd lean toward the lateral move, then feel like she was giving up a career trajectory. Luna: And that's exactly where a Values Stack helps. Because without it, you're just ping-ponging between external pressures. Lucas: So I walked her through a simple exercise. I asked her to brainstorm a list of work values—things like compensation, growth, autonomy, work-life balance, impact, recognition, security, and so on. Then I asked her to narrow it down to her top five. Luna: And this is where people often get stuck. They say 'all five are equally important.' Lucas: Right. So the trick is to force trade-offs. I use a pairwise comparison. Take two values and ask: if you could only have one, which would you pick? Then rank all five that way. Priya's initial list was: compensation, growth, work-life balance, autonomy, and impact. Luna: And after the pairwise comparison? Lucas: She was surprised. Work-life balance came out on top. Then autonomy. Then growth. Then impact. And finally compensation. She told me, 'I thought I cared about money more, but when I really pushed myself, I realised I'd rather have less stress and more control over my time.' Luna: That's huge. And it made her decision clear, I assume. Lucas: It did. She went with the lateral move. And two years later, she told me it was the best career decision she'd made. She got promoted at that smaller company anyway, because she had more energy and focus. Luna: So the Values Stack didn't just help her choose—it helped her avoid regret. Because she knew she was acting on her real priorities. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the core of this episode. If we've helped you think through a career move or decision, a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going—buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. Luna: Yeah, it makes a real difference. And we stay ad-free because of it. Lucas: So back to the stack. Once you have your ranked list, you can use it as a lens for any decision. New job offer? Compare it against your stack. Considering a side project? Stack check. Even day-to-day choices—like whether to volunteer for a committee. Luna: But what if your stack changes? I mean, values aren't static. Five years ago, I might have ranked growth first. Now, work-life balance is way up. Lucas: That's a great point. And it's why I recommend revisiting your stack at least once a year. Life events—a new child, a health scare, a layoff—can reshuffle your priorities. If you don't update your stack, you're making decisions based on an outdated map. Luna: So it's a living document, not a one-and-done. Lucas: Exactly. I have clients who redo the exercise every January. They keep their old stacks in a journal, and it's fascinating to see how they've evolved. One client went from 'compensation' being number one to 'impact' being number one over three years. Luna: And that shift probably reflected a deeper change in what they wanted from life. The stack just made it visible. Lucas: Yes. And once it's visible, you can make intentional choices. Otherwise, you drift. You take the promotion because it's expected, or you stay in a job because the money is good, even though you're miserable. Luna: Let's talk about how to actually build one. What's the step-by-step for our listeners? Lucas: Sure. Step one: brainstorm a list of ten to fifteen values. Common ones include: compensation, growth, work-life balance, autonomy, impact, recognition, security, creativity, collaboration, mentorship, status, and challenge. Don't overthink it. Luna: Step two? Lucas: Narrow it to your top five. Eliminate the rest. Then do the pairwise comparison: take two values, ask which one you'd keep if the other disappeared. Do that for every pair among your top five. Rank them by how many times each 'wins.' Luna: And if there's a tie? Lucas: Flip a coin. No, seriously—if two values are truly equal, flip a coin. Because in practice, you will face situations where you have to choose. The coin forces a decision. And if you feel disappointed by the outcome, that tells you your real preference. Luna: That's a neat psychological trick. The regret test. Lucas: Exactly. Then step three: write down your ranked stack and keep it where you'll see it—on your phone notes, a sticky note on your monitor, whatever. And step four: apply it. The next time you have a career decision, pull out your stack and ask, 'Which option better serves my number-one value?' Luna: And what if the answer is neither? Or both? Lucas: Then the stack still helps. It might reveal that you need to create a third option. Or it might show that the decision isn't as impactful as you thought. Either way, you're using a framework instead of your gut. Luna: I like that. One thing I want to add: the stack isn't just for big decisions. I use mine to say no to low-priority requests. If a meeting doesn't align with my top two values, I decline. Lucas: That's a smart application. It turns the stack into a boundary-setting tool. And boundaries protect your energy for what actually matters. Luna: So to wrap up: a Career Values Stack is a simple, repeatable exercise that helps you make decisions aligned with your deepest priorities. It prevents regret, clarifies trade-offs, and evolves with you. Lucas: And if you're sitting on a decision right now, try it. Build your stack tonight. Then test it against the options you're considering. I think you'll be surprised how much clarity it brings. Luna: And if you want to support the show and keep these episodes ad-free, you can do that at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Every bit helps. Lucas: Thanks for listening. We'll be back next time with another tool for your career toolkit.