About this episodeSusie Welch distinguishes between values (deeply held motivations that organize life) and virtues/traits (cult…AI summary
Susie Welch distinguishes between values (deeply held motivations that organize life) and virtues/traits (cultural constructs or personality features), using her Values Bridge Assessment data to reveal significant generational and corporate misalignments. She highlights that Gen Z prioritizes self-care, voice, and agency, while employers seek achievement, work centrism, and scope, creating a hiring gap. The core advice is for individuals to become the 'author' of their lives by aligning their career and personal choices with their authentic values rather than societal expectations.
Key takeaways 7
Values vs. Virtues: Values are personal organizing principles (e.g., work centrism, belovedness), whereas virtues (honesty, kindness) and traits (curiosity) are shared cultural or personality constructs. Confusing them leads to judgment.
Work Centrism is not Workaholism: Work centrism is a value indicating how important work is as an organizing principle. It is distinct from workaholism, which is a pathology. People with high work centrism often face judgment from those with lower work centrism.
Gen Z vs. Corporate Values Gap: Gen Z's top three values are self-care (eudemonia), voice (self-expression), and agency (self-determination). Conversely, hiring managers prioritize achievement, work centrism, and scope. Only 2% of Gen Z possesses all three values that employers are actively seeking.
Societal Value Gaps: The general US population's top values are eudemonia, agency, voice, beholderism, and family centrism. However, there is a significant gap in eudemonia (people want 25% more joy/pleasure) and a negative gap in work centrism (people want 7% less work), yet 40-50% do not use their paid time off.
High-Performing Team Values: High-performing teams exhibit an unusual value profile: high achievement, high belonging (collaboration), and surprisingly low agency (depressed to rank 11 vs rank 2 in general population). This suggests these teams prioritize collective winning over individual self-determination.
AI and Values: AI does not have values; it is a machine. The values expressed in AI outputs reflect the creators' values (often affluence/usage metrics) rather than human-centric values like radius (systemic impact) or non-civi (acts of service).
Career Trends: Post-pandemic, there is a shift from 'job hopping' to 'job hugging,' where employees seek stability and retention due to economic anxiety. Additionally, 'resume botoxing' (age-proofing resumes) is a real phenomenon driven by ageism.
Notable quotes 5AI-generated: wording and quote attribution may be wrong. Use the play link to verify.
“Values are your deeply held motivations and beliefs that galvanize your actions and decisions.”
▶ 2:48Susie Welch defining what a value is, distinguishing it from virtues and traits.
“It's better to be the author of your life than the editor. We end up being the editor of our life... There's a lot of people writing the story of our life... And then what we try to do is we try to edit it into shape that it's palpable to us.”
▶ 45:19Welch's primary advice for living an aligned life, urging listeners to take ownership of their life's narrative.
“A holic is a disease. It's a pathology... The whole thing about values is if you're not hurting anybody, they're yours to live.”
▶ 4:02Distinguishing between the pathological condition of workaholism and the value of work centrism.
“I think that there's this culture, hustle culture... It's depicted on TV... Some of those kids were working very hard... I may be the only person who ever defends a nepo baby... they have got a big chip on their shoulder and they want to prove themselves.”
▶ 6:47Welch discussing the perception of hard work among Gen Z and the 'nepo baby' phenomenon in media like Succession.
“In high performing teams... we see achievement at number one... Number two, we see belonging... we see agency very depressed... So agency for the general population is number two. And in high performing teams, we're seeing it down at 11.”
▶ 34:55Data insight showing that successful teams prioritize collective achievement and belonging over individual self-determination.
Chapters & Sections (21)▼
0:00Distinguishing Values from Virtues and Traitschapter2
2:09Defining Values vs Virtues and Traits
3:46Work Centrism vs Workaholism Values
5:45Work Centrism vs Gen Z Valueschapter1
7:52Generational Work Values and Hiring Priorities
11:17Gen Z Values, Authenticity, and Work Week Debateschapter2
14:48Future of Work Week and AI Impact
16:54Work Identity and Career Expectations
18:16Values Bridge Assessment and Top Valueschapter1
21:56Belovedness, Agency, and Voice Values
24:48Analyzing Personal Values: Scope, Family, Faith, and Workchapter1
27:12Faith, Achievement, Work Centrism, and Aesthetics
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