Poplin at Large: Live Your Values Through Your Work

Here I am with two members of the Simple Intentions team: Jae and Chelsea. We're at the YouthCare Luncheon!

An unexpected byproduct of this work is discovering a sea of people doing extraordinary things out in the world. Every new client is an opportunity to meet someone who inspires me. It really makes stressful days become so much less stressful. Because of my work as a personal stylist for women, I'm fortunate to connect with all sorts of inspiring people beyond my client base and as often as I can, I like to share about these new relationships with you, Dear Reader.

Some time ago, I introduced you to businesswoman, author, work/life balance expert and force for good, Jae Ellard. If you aren't familiar with her work, now's the time to check out her company, Simple Intentions. Jae teaches work/ life balance to individuals all over the world at corporate trainings for big name clients. She also maintains an ongoing relationship with her students through her blog and social media presence. 

This week, I get to interact with the Simple Intentions Community via my guest blog post about living your values through your work. I'm honored to contribute to this cause and I thought this post might be helpful to you, too. 

So, check it out and here's to living your values everyday and giving yourself some credit for it. That isn't easy, my friend. Good for you. 

Onto the post!

Update:

The magnificent Jae Ellard has moved on to other things so that link is no longer live. Interested in this article? Here it is!

Poplin at Large: Live Your Values Through Your Work

Early in my career, I was drawn to public service and the nonprofit world. Why? It seemed obvious. Careers in these sectors were the best and perhaps, realistically, the only way to give back and make a difference in any significant or productive way. After all, making the world a better place is central to the job description. Later, I thought, corporate America could also offer the same opportunity, but only if you were able to land one of a company’s few corporate social responsibility roles.

Eventually, of course, I discovered that none of this was true. It turns out you can live your values no matter your industry; that you can have a meaningful impact on the people around you by nurturing your own strengths and sharing them with others. It can even benefit you in your career. And you don’t need to uproot your life to do this — really.

Now I’ve left non-profits and public service. I run my own small business as a personal stylist — I help women communicate who they truly are, using personal style as a lens. And it is by far the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. By providing clear guidelines to help a woman know what flatters her frame, and guidance about how to convey what makes her uniquely her, I plant a seed that helps her flourish in all aspects of her life. Especially gratifying is to work with a client a year or two after we first met, and to see how her life has been influenced by our work together. Peoples’ lives are being improved, or even transformed, by this work. And I can see it at close range, in a way I never could earlier in my career.

And yet, there’s more. In addition to my work with clients, I devote a great deal of my energy into my volunteer work with YouthCare, helping to empower homeless youth ages 11–24 in my community. It’s a rewarding and rejuvenating part of my everyday life — and it presents yet another opportunity to channel my personal values into something meaningful and productive.

Jae has so much insight into work/life balance and I’ve learned so much from her. Today, I’m here to talk about how you can seamlessly integrate your values into your work and your life.

Leverage Your Expertise

What do you have to offer to your community? For starters, you are almost certainly an expert in something — most likely the thing that helps you put food on the table. What value do you create with your work? How could the community benefit from it? In my case, as a personal stylist I can help people with a problem we all experience, regardless of lifestyle, income, or even housing status — what am I going to wear today?

By partnering with YouthCare, an effective and well-respected local nonprofit that supports homeless youth, I’ve made my expertise available to a segment of the population who, it turns out, can really benefit from it. Working together, we’ve created a styling session program for youth in YouthCare’s Barista Training Program. We teach them what clothing is appropriate for job interviews and the workplace, then help them “shop” from a boutique of quality clothes donated by the community — and my client base. It’s a successful, thriving community program that is really just an extension of the work I do every day with my clients.

Think about your own work. Do you have skills you take for granted, but that just might be incredibly advantageous to someone in need?

Identify Your Resources

Let’s face it: we live in a hectic world where time is at a premium. Maybe, given the pressures of your career and the time it takes up, volunteering is a separate, subordinate dream that you might eventually realize — in retirement. But it doesn’t have to be. In fact, you can actively benefit your work by way of volunteering.

In my case, I’ve found that by threading together my volunteering and my business, I have tangibly enhanced my clients’ customer experience. I offer each client the opportunity to donate her extraneous clothes after we have gone through the step of editing her closet. I take those pieces to YouthCare for our styling session program, and the organization sends tax information to her. It doesn’t stop there. I also invite clients to attend graduation ceremonies for the youth finishing up the Barista Training Program. There’s no obligation, just the chance to see the impact of their donated clothes on the lives of young people in our community. And I host tables at YouthCare’s annual luncheon and invite clients to attend — I regularly have over twenty attendees. Every once in a while, I share stories about youth on my blog and Instagram and tag clients who donate with a public thank you.

This approach is in line with my values, and is good for business in so many ways. Not long ago, I worked with a new client transitioning to female after she read my blog posts about working with transgender youth. I also have clients who reach out after a while because they have more clothes to donate; this allows me to stay connected with clients in the long term without needing to “sell” them something. And client surveys show that learning about my work in the community contributes to their choosing to work with my company.

Select Your Cause

Youth homelessness is particularly upsetting to me. These are just kids. They’re kids who didn’t have someone to help them buy their first car, or encourage them to take the SATs, or even help them choose their first bra or tie their first tie. They live a challenging and often dangerous life. But I’ve found that one afternoon of warmth and attention from our team can really shift the path for some of these kids. They know that someone, who is not paid to care, really does care. They know that there is no question too embarrassing to ask, and they know that when they leave they will not “look homeless” — something so many of them fear on a daily basis.

For you it might be the environment, or animal welfare, or social justice. Think about causes that mean something to you. They might even be naturally aligned with the expertise you have on offer. Then do some research, find the organizations that are doing the best work in that field, and ask how you can help.

Yes, owning my own business often affords me more flexibility to choose how I spend my time and resources. But it doesn’t take much. Every time you write a letter, make a call, or spend an hour with someone in need, you are positively contributing to your community — and maybe even your career.