Can I Be Myself in That Role?
Values, Identity, and the Decision to Move
Explore how values and identity shape career decisions — and why the right move is not just about opportunity, but alignment.
One of the most common transition questions we hear isn’t about salary or title. It’s “If I take this role… will I still be me?”
This is where a purely competency-based approach to transition support falls short. Because career transitions often trigger identity work: the negotiation between who I have been, who I am becoming, and who the role requires me to be (Terblanche et al., 2017; McAdams & McLean, 2013).
Why values are a transition accelerator
Values act like an internal compass. In transitions, they help answer:
Why does this move matter now?
What am I unwilling to trade away?
What kind of leader do I want to be in this new system?
In your action research, integrating a values assessment created significant breakthroughs—particularly where resistance was rooted in a belief that leadership would require inauthenticity. Clarifying values helped clients challenge that belief and realign to purpose (Boyatzis & Dhar, 2021).
Values work isn’t “soft”—it’s structural
Values are not formed in a vacuum. They’re shaped by context, identity, and lived experience. That’s why values work becomes even more important when clients hold multiple intersecting identities that shape how they experience power and belonging (Rodriguez et al., 2016; Staunæs, 2011).
In coaching, this matters because the “right decision” on paper can be misaligned in practice if it violates core values—leading to exhaustion, disengagement, or regret.
“In coaching, values matter because the “right decision” on paper can be misaligned in practice if it violates core values—leading to exhaustion, disengagement, or regret. ”
A practical way to use values in a transition decision
A simple approach:
Identify your top values (not twenty—your real top five).
Define what each value means in behaviour (not just words).
Test the new role against them:
Where will this role honour my values?
Where will it pressure them?
What boundaries would I need?
Link values back to action: “If belonging is a core value, what relationships must I build early?”
This becomes a bridge between inner clarity and external strategy.
A provocative lens for organisations
If organisations say they want diverse leaders, they must create cultures where leaders do not have to abandon identity to be accepted. Values coaching doesn’t just support the individual. It indirectly reveals whether the environment can hold difference.
Reflection questions for readers
Which value have you historically sacrificed to succeed?
What is the cost of that sacrifice—and is it still worth it?
If you'd like to discuss how our coaching services can assist you, we'd love to talk.
References (selected):
Boyatzis & Dhar (2021); McAdams & McLean (2013); Terblanche et al. (2017); Rodriguez et al. (2016); Staunæs (2011); Shoukry & Cox (2018).
About the Author
Mulalo Tshikalange has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2014. She has been at the magazine since 1995, and, as a senior editor for many years, focussed on national security, international reporting, and features.
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