In this episode of the Agile Skills Library, Geoff Watts and Paul Goddard explore a simple but powerful Core Values exercise used in coaching, leadership development, and team growth.
They walk through a practical method for identifying individual core values, narrowing them down to what truly matters, and using those values to guide decisions, priorities, and behaviour. The conversation highlights how values influence motivation, emotional responses, and workplace dynamics — often without us realising it.
The episode also explores how understanding values can improve empathy, reduce conflict, and support more authentic decision-making in teams and leadership roles. A downloadable template is included to help listeners run the exercise themselves, either individually or with others.
Geoff Watts:
Welcome back, everybody, to another episode of the Agile Skills Library.
I absolutely love the exercise we’re going to explore today. It’s one of the simplest techniques we use — and probably one of the most widely applicable. If I’m judging purely on raw numbers, I’ve sold more decks of these cards than any other tool I’ve created, so I think it’s fair to say other people find it useful too.
It’s called the Core Values Exercise — fairly self-explanatory. I use it in one-to-one coaching, with teams, and in workshops to help people understand what really drives them.
Simple, but incredibly powerful.
Paul, what do you think? Why do core values matter?
Paul Goddard:
From a coaching perspective, it’s often really enlightening for the coachee to articulate what drives them — what motivates them.
Sometimes just hearing it out loud is reassuring. It helps people make sense of their decisions and behaviours:
“I did that because this value matters to me.”
I also think decisions feel more authentic — and more sustainable — when they align with our values.
Geoff Watts:
That’s genuinely insightful — probably one of the best things I’ve heard you say for a while.
Paul Goddard:
I’m on fire today, Geoff. Not literally — but I am on fire.
Geoff Watts:
We all have values, but we’re often not conscious of them. And yet those values are shaping our behaviour and how we interpret events all the time.
If I understand my values better, I can:
We’ve talked about emotions in previous episodes — this connects closely.
It’s also vital for teams. Teams are made up of individuals with different values. Sometimes they overlap, sometimes they conflict — and that’s normal.
If we don’t talk about values, those conflicts tend to surface in unhelpful ways.
For today though, let’s keep it simple and focus on individual core values.
Paul, are you willing to be our guinea pig?
Paul Goddard:
Absolutely. This will be news to me as well.
Geoff Watts:
The exercise itself is very simple.
I have a deck of cards — each card has a single value written on it: things like creativity, integrity, achievement, and so on.
You don’t need fancy cards. Sticky notes or index cards work just fine.
I usually use around 50 values — the more options, the better.
Step one is to sort the cards into two piles:
It’s not about whether you like the value — fairness, for example — it’s about how core it is to you compared to other values.
Paul Goddard:
Okay, I’ve done the first pass.
Geoff Watts:
Roughly how many ended up in the “important” pile?
Paul Goddard:
About 35.
Geoff Watts:
That’s very normal — and exactly why we do multiple passes.
Now we go again. Same two piles — but be more ruthless.
Ask yourself questions like:
Paul Goddard:
Okay — round two done. I’m down to about 20 now.
Geoff Watts:
Good. You’re doing well.
Now comes the hard part:
Your goal is to get down to six core values.
Paul Goddard:
Six?! Wow.
Geoff Watts:
If it helps, compare similar values. For example:
The word itself doesn’t matter — it’s just a prompt. What matters is what it means to you.
Paul Goddard:
Okay… I’ve got six.
Geoff Watts:
Great. For the benefit of the listeners, what are they?
Paul Goddard:
I haven’t ranked them — this is just the order they landed.
Geoff Watts:
That’s really insightful. And it’s worth saying — if you’d done this a year ago, or ten years ago, you might have chosen differently.
Values evolve.
Geoff Watts:
Once you’ve identified your core values, you can start using them consciously.
For example:
Some people even colour-code activities or keep their values visible as reminders.
Paul Goddard:
That really resonates.
A lot of the volunteering I do at my local rugby club lines up perfectly with community, friendship, loyalty and recognition. I don’t get paid for it — but it’s deeply fulfilling.
Geoff Watts:
This is also incredibly useful when dealing with other people.
When someone’s behaviour feels awkward, emotional, or frustrating, it’s often because one of their core values is being threatened or unmet — even if they’re not aware of it.
Recognising that can:
It helps us see behaviour less as “difficult” and more as “understandable”.
Paul Goddard:
Is this something you always do with coaching clients?
Geoff Watts:
I don’t do mandatory processes.
Often, people reveal their values naturally during early conversations. My job as a coach is to listen for patterns and reflect them back.
For some clients, doing this exercise formally is incredibly powerful. For others, it might feel too structured early on.
It’s always about context.
Geoff Watts:
We’ll include a downloadable template with example values — but there are no right or wrong answers.
Feel free to add, remove, or replace values so they genuinely mean something to you.
Paul Goddard:
Great exercise. Really useful.
Geoff Watts:
And there you go — another tool for your Agile Skills Library.
Paul Goddard:
Use it well.
Geoff Watts:
See you next time.