How to Align Your Career With Personal Values

Hard truth I wish someone told me sooner: Your team can admire you. Your boss can appreciate you. But a company will never love you back. And when the winds change → Budgets get cut. → Teams get restructured. → Priorities shift. You’re expected to adapt, quietly. I learned this the hard way. I poured heart, time, and identity into a role… Until I realized I was replaceable in a system I thought I belonged to. That’s when everything changed. I stopped attaching my identity to roles, titles, and hustle And started anchoring it to a mission far deeper. Here’s how I made the shift (and how you can too): 1. Know your “Why.” ↳ Write down your mission. Your core values. ↳ Ask: What do I want to stand for—even when no one’s watching? 2. Become skill-rich, not title-dependent. ↳ Your role can vanish. Your skills won’t. ↳ Grow what can go with you anywhere. 3. Build an identity bigger than your job. ↳ You are more than a LinkedIn headline. ↳ Create a life that reflects who you are, not what you do. 4. Surround yourself with mission-driven humans. ↳ Network beyond status. ↳ Find people who light up when they talk about their purpose. 5. Align your career with impact. ↳ Don’t just chase promotions—chase alignment. ↳ Choose roles that echo your values. 6. Build something outside of work. ↳ Your personal brand. A creative project. ↳ An idea that has your fingerprint on it. Because when you’re mission-driven, not just job-driven: ✔ You take rejection as redirection. ✔ You see your role as a tool, not a tether. ✔ You build something no layoff can take away. Show up. Contribute. Care. But don’t forget to protect what’s yours. Because when the job ends, your purpose stays. P.S. What’s one thing you’re building that no job can take away? Drop it below, I’d love to hear! Message and image credit: Erica Williams Simon — ♻️ Spread the message. Someone out there might need this today. ➕ Follow Sandra Pellumbi for more. 🦉

The hardest person to manage is ourselves. In 2005, Peter Drucker wrote an Harvard Business Review article that feels like it was written for today’s world. He emphasized something powerful: the ability to manage ourselves. In a time when career paths are no longer linear and change is constant, his insights are more relevant than ever. Drucker challenged us to ask three big questions about ourselves: - What are my strengths? - How do I perform best? - What are my values? These questions aren’t just for the Napoléons and Mozarts of the world—they’re for anyone navigating the complexities of the workplace. Here’s how to reflect on these ideas and manage yourself more effectively: 1. Discover Your Strengths Most people think they know what they’re good at—but many are wrong. Drucker proposed a simple solution: feedback analysis. Write down your expectations every time you make a key decision. A year later (or maybe a few months later), compare the actual results with what you expected. Patterns will emerge, showing you where you truly shine—and where you don’t. Tip: Focus on your strengths. Instead of trying to fix every weakness, double down on what you naturally excel at to achieve excellence. 2. Understand How You Perform People work and learn differently. Are you a reader or a listener? Do you learn by doing, writing, or talking? For example, Eisenhower excelled as a Supreme Commander because he prepared with written questions but struggled as President because he had to answer spontaneously in press conferences. Tip: Align your work style with what suits you best. If you’re a listener, seek discussions; if you’re a writer, carve out time to process through writing. 3. Live by Your Values Values are your internal compass. They define not just what you do but how you want to show up. Drucker shared the story of a diplomat who resigned rather than compromise his values. Knowing your values ensures your work aligns with who you are at the core. Tip: Periodically ask yourself: Does my work align with my values? If not, it may be time to pivot. As work evolves, so must we. By understanding our strengths, adapting how we perform, and living by our values, we can chart fulfilling, impactful careers. For me, this is a reminder to pause and reflect—not just on WHAT I’m doing but HOW and WHY I’m doing it. The hardest person to manage truly is ourselves, but when we embrace that challenge, we create opportunities to grow, contribute, and thrive in ways that feel deeply aligned with who we are. #reflection #learning #clarity #growth #improvement #leadership #humanBehavior #curiosity #values https://lnkd.in/enjcH4VJ

“Lara, I am thinking about asking to change from my actual leadership role to a specialist role, which I do very well also. I feel that I am becoming a person I don't want to be….” Many of us, when we start to grow in the corporative world, start also to fit models to be able to adjust to certain expectations we believe will bring us faster to the positions we are aiming. This mentee, she is a woman in a very volatile environment and she is the only woman in a male set up. For many of us who are "different” or diverse from the group we are working with, this might be even more true. If we are younger, from a different country, from a different religion, etc… We will only feel like this when who we are and what we want is forgotten, or not clearly worked out. This happens a lot when we are changing leadership levels: 1. Individual contributor to leader of individuals and 2. Leader of individuals to leader of leaders. To be a leader of individuals you need to understand individual motivations and bring the best out of them. Technical support can be part of the work, not the essence. In this case you might excel by helping each individual to excel. To be a leader of leaders is another ball game. You have to respect the leadership style of each leader. Your focus is to make them understand that their task is to take the best out their teams and that is nothing easier than to lead teams that are in their element. Teams that are comfortable with each other and are proud of their work are easier to lead. For this WE need to be in our element knowing who we are and what we want…. The best moment for us to make a journey on who we are is while we are thinking about our professional growth. Our professional growth should be a reinforcement of our personal growth, otherwise we will have a#passivegrowth - a growth that is based on external expectations that will end up crashing with our #corevalues and our #purpose. To be have a healthy professional growth, it is essencial that you put the right attention in your personal growth. 1. What are my core values? 2. What is my life’s purpose? 3. How my work today reflect those values and purpose? 4. How my promotion and this team I am leading will be a tool for me to live my values and purpose? Being clear about who you are and what is important to you will make also easier for your company to assign the best role to you, so you can live in your element. This is the best way to grow professionally, personally and feel well about it! No doubt about who we are becoming will emerge. Are you in sync with your true self in your professional journey? Let's discuss. #LaraBezerra #WorkCoherence #LaraMentorship #LeadershipDevelopment #ProfessionalAlignment #CoreValues #PurposeDrivenCareer #CorporateChallenges

How the word “aligned” took on a new meaning after I transitioned from corporate life to coaching… At PepsiCo, as a Senior Brand Manager on Life Cereal, “gaining alignment” meant endless hours of prepping decks and strategies to present to the executive team. At GfK, as a VP of Consulting, it meant aligning my strategic recommendations with clients. Again, more decks, more data, more presentations. Alignment felt like a heavy lift—a task requiring a lot of effort but not always a lot of fulfillment. But now, running Position for Success Coaching & Consulting, I’ve completely reframed what “alignment” means—especially in your career. Alignment, to me, is about finding true alignment: where your work matches your core values, passions, and strengths. It’s pursuing a career path that lights you up, where you feel authentic and fulfilled. Here are a few questions to help you assess if you’re aligned in your career: ❓Am I doing what motivated me to work here in the first place? ❓What do I love about my work, and how often do I get to do it? ❓Is there a link between my current role and what matters most to me? ❓How does this company reflect my values, and do I feel proud to be part of it? ❓Is this role leading me toward my long-term career goals? If you can confidently answer “yes” to at least three of these, congrats—you’re on the right track!👏 If not, it might be time to re-evaluate where you’re investing your time and energy. The years fly by, so why not spend them doing something that truly fulfills you? Need guidance to realign your career? Let’s chat—send me a DM, and let’s explore how I can help you make that shift. #careeralignment #realignyourcareer #careertransition #positionforsuccess

Ever have that moment where you look up from your laptop and think, This is not what I signed up for. You’ve had your head down, working hard, just trying to make it through the days and weeks. Then you stop. Blink. And start saying thinking: How did I end up here? This isn’t what I thought it was going to be. Is this as good as it gets? Is this even what I want? I don’t have any other options. I’ve been there for sure. That line of thinking can make you feel powerless and trapped. Which often leads to not making any changes. To burnout, dread, anxiety, and overwhelm. You end up abdicating your autonomy to your job. There are so many ways you can start making small shifts that add up to a completely different day-to-day emotional experience. Change in the right direction. Some ideas: 1️⃣ Reconnect with your values and goals: Take some time to reflect on what's important to you and what you hope to achieve in your career. It may not be the same as it was when you started out. Once you’ve done that, what needs to change to get in alignment with those values and goals? Start making changes one by one. 2️⃣ Focus on what you can control: It's easy to feel overwhelmed or frustrated by the things that are outside of your control, such as organizational policies and politics, supervisors, colleagues, clients, trends in your industry, or the job market. Instead of focusing on these external factors, focus on the things that you can control, such as your own mindset, work habits, and actions. 3️⃣ Identify areas for growth: It’s possible that you aren’t being challenged enough or that your professional growth has stalled or that you are bored with what you are currently doing. Where can you add or take advantage of some opportunities for growth and development? 4️⃣ Build in time for rest: It’s hard to get unstuck when you are going full speed all. the. time. Start building in some intentional slow downs. Create the space you need to assess your life. 5️⃣ Build relationships and community: When we are overworking, we neglect our need for human connection. Where can you build in more meaningful connection? 6️⃣ Ask yourself this → If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about your current job, what would it be? Then, answer this → How can I make that happen without a magic wand? 7️⃣ Get coached. I know what it is like to look up and feel lost about where you are and how you got there. Getting coached helped me make significant changes to the way my life looked and felt (and those tools are still helping me do that every single day). ❔How are you feeling about your job and your life right now?

Strategies for reigniting passion and alignment in your career Three executives have come to me stuck at a career crossroads: The comfortable yet unfulfilled executive who is earning good money but questioning, "Is this what I really want?" The VP operating on autopilot and yearning for growth, “There’s no challenge - I could do this in my sleep!” The aspiring c-suite executive who is ambitious but “Nobody’s developing me or helping me get there.” Each has hit a career plateau. It’s not due to a lack of opportunity but a lack of feedback and self-awareness. I’ve said it before and will say it a billion times more: The farther you advance in leadership, the less feedback you get. We don’t know what we don’t know. That’s why we conduct 360 reviews to uncover blind spots and ignite new paths for growth. What we do isn’t just about climbing the ladder. It's about aligning your career with your true north star. With strategic visioning, we craft experiences, not just job titles. We align values with actions. Are you pursuing what truly motivates you, or are you just moving up because it's expected? Consider this: What do you want to experience? What’s your north star? What are your values? Growth isn't just vertical. Sometimes, the most significant growth happens when we pause to reflect and realign. 🌱 #executivecoaching #executivesandmanagement #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #management