Values Hierarchy
Builder

Assessment & Discovery Tools

Rank what matters most and test it against
how you actually decide.

Why This Tool Matters

Most people can name their values. Fewer can rank them. And almost nobody has tested whether their stated hierarchy matches their actual behavior. This tool does all three: identify, rank, and pressure-test - so your values become a decision-making framework rather than an aspiration list.

The gap between stated values and lived values is one of the most common sources of low-grade dissatisfaction in professional and personal life. You say you value family, but you keep taking the late meeting. You say you value health, but you keep skipping the workout. That is not hypocrisy - it is a values hierarchy problem. Something else is ranked higher in practice, whether you have acknowledged it or not.

This exercise makes the implicit explicit. Once you can see your actual hierarchy, you can make a deliberate choice: align your behavior to your stated values, or revise your stated values to match how you actually live.

How to Use This Tool

  1. Start with the word bank. Scan the full list without overthinking. Circle the 10 values that feel most alive for you right now - not aspirationally, but as they actually show up in your choices.
  2. Narrow to 5. From your circled 10, identify your top 5. If two feel equally important, force a choice - the act of choosing is part of the exercise.
  3. Rank them. Write your top 5 in order, #1 at the top. Your #1 is the value you would protect even if it meant sacrificing the others.
  4. Pressure-test each one. For each value, recall one recent decision where you honored it and one where you compromised it. Note what happened as a result.
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Values Hierarchy Builder

Section 1 — Values Word Bank

Circle 10 that resonate. Then narrow to your top 5.

Integrity
Growth
Freedom
Security
Family
Achievement
Creativity
Service
Adventure
Balance
Loyalty
Compassion
Excellence
Authenticity
Justice
Wisdom
Health
Community
Independence
Courage
Respect
Gratitude
Humor
Spirituality
Innovation
Simplicity
Generosity
Resilience
Connection
Purpose
Section 2 — Values Ranking

From your circled 10, identify and rank your top 5:

#1 My top value:
#2 My #2 value:
#3 My #3 value:
#4 My #4 value:
#5 My #5 value:
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Pressure Test (Values 1 - 3)

For each value, recall a recent decision where you honored it and one where you compromised it.

Value #1: ___________________________
A recent decision where I honored this value:
A recent decision where I compromised it:
What happened as a result:
Value #2: ___________________________
A recent decision where I honored this value:
A recent decision where I compromised it:
What happened as a result:
Value #3: ___________________________
A recent decision where I honored this value:
A recent decision where I compromised it:
What happened as a result:
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Pressure Test (Values 4 - 5)

Value #4: ___________________________
A recent decision where I honored this value:
A recent decision where I compromised it:
What happened as a result:
Value #5: ___________________________
A recent decision where I honored this value:
A recent decision where I compromised it:
What happened as a result:
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Before Your Next Session

Bring your completed pressure test to your next coaching conversation. These two questions are worth sitting with before then:

Reflection Question 1

Looking at the decisions where you compromised your stated values - what does that pattern tell you about what is actually ranked highest in how you live?

Reflection Question 2

If you ranked your values based on behavior rather than belief, what would your top 3 be?

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Tandem Coaching Partners

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partnering with executives and organizations
to unlock sustainable growth.

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