IPA Core – Values

Your personale values

Norm driven
Platform

Authoritative
Platform

Dialog
Platform

Opinion makers
Platform

IPA Core – Values

The main purpose of the IPA Core Values Analysis is to bring inner values to light and reflect on whether the time is ripe to unlearn the values that are inappropriate for the life being lived now and to raise self-awareness about the landmarks that will help the individual into the future.

Elaboration of the basis for IPA Core – Values (Value Analysis)

Through our upbringing, and thus through our parents, family, environment, time and place, our personal values are imprinted in us as deeply rooted settings in our mental universe. They are the foundation of the way we interpret ourselves in the world.

Our highest and most important values hold the deepest life force and energy in our lives. They are the basis on which we create meaning and coherence in life. Our values determine what is IMPORTANT to us, what MOTIVATES and steers us in a certain direction.

In relation to WORK LIFE, our highest and most important values motivate the jobs we apply for and the direction of the career we choose. The value analysis is a starting point for reflection and personal development. In the process, we identify and unfold your 3-4 most important personal values. When you know your values, you can target the areas where you can most benefit from further development as a leader. And you can release bound energy.

Research shows that the more self-awareness a leader has – including the ability to reflect and learn – the more successful they are in their leadership. The Values Assessment captures your values based on 4 different mental platforms. Each platform is defined by the way we understand and interpret ourselves in the world.

It also captures the fundamental values that lie on each platform. All of this can be seen in the example below of the result of a Values Analysis.

Read also about IPA’s classic personality analysis

IPA Core

In Value Analysis, we work with personal values that are linked to and shaped in the individual through their upbringing and the influences they have received from outside. From the surroundings, from the social environment. This means that it is the parents, family, place, time, upbringing, etc. that together shape the individual’s values. Values are thus created by the human community, by the relationships we enter into, and cannot be opted out of. They meet the individual as something external.

Values are therefore deep traces that are left in the individual through the imprinting and upbringing they have had. Thus, values are part of the signals that come from within and tell the individual whether there is meaning and coherence in the way life is lived. Values thus constitute a kind of “backdrop” against which the individual interprets themselves and the life they live. Figuratively speaking, values are the inner alphabet that enables you to put together words that create meaning and coherence in your life. Values are what give our actions and behavior MEANING and purpose.

Below are definitions of the 8 sub-typologies defined and operationalized from the 4 basic platforms.

The typologies below should be seen as 4 different basic platforms and developmental stages in human development. From these platforms, a number of sub-typologies are further defined that more concretely describe the behavior that develops from each of these basic platforms.
The subtypologies are defined based on how the individual integrates the different platforms into a more concrete behavior. Thus, all subtypologies are operationalized so that you have to say yes to a number of statements from the basic platform that determines the subtypology AND yes or no to a number of statements from one or more of the other basic platforms.

And the determination of these subtypologies is further enabled by the fact that the statements on the basic platforms contain both statements pointing towards Integration/adaptation/suppressing one’s own emotions, as well as statements pointing towards Differentiation/recognition of one’s own emotions. For example, the Duty person is defined based on the platform called the Conformist. The Duty-Driven Person will say yes to statements that are about suppressing your emotions, accepting things as they are and knowing what you can and cannot do. At the same time, the Dutiful Man will say no to statements that are about recognizing yourself and your rights, and recognizing and acting on your feelings.

Much of the stress we experience in people today is triggered by external factors – work pressures, etc. – but the root cause is often that the “background noise” has become too dominant, the noise that occurs when our external existence no longer harmonizes with the internal values on which we interpret the world. People today experience an enormous tension between the old and the new, between work and private life, between opportunities and limitations, between the need for peace and the constant demand for adaptation and change, between being yourself and being like others, about identity from within and without, between life as a quality and life as a project. And much more.

The zeitgeist today is dominated by the fact that we have lost our collective innocence and have yet to find a new position and standpoint in terms of values. We have become alone in the world, each with our own personal project, and we can no longer hide among the others. We need to use this as knowledge in our value analysis.

For many people, this increased alienation creates a life filled with projects that only move around on the outside. And not a coherent, understandable rhythm of life that – consciously or unconsciously – is based on some deep and shared inner values that are rooted in both the individual and the group with which the individual identifies. So we change our actions and behaviors, but not our personal values! We don’t replace the old with something new.
There is only one path we can take. And that is to find our way back to and into the values we already have deep within us.

And maybe develop and change some of these values because they no longer harmonize with the life we live now. Values have become an obstacle to the new interpretation of the world and the new self-image we need to develop in order to move forward in our lives. As an adult, reflective, decisive and responsible human being, we can develop and change some of our values. This requires, among other things, that we bring the unconscious values into consciousness. And that takes time!

Many life crises are about letting go of old values and patterns and replacing them with new interpretations of yourself and life. New interpretations of yourself in the world, new ways of perceiving yourself. This often means saying goodbye to old values, old thought patterns, inappropriate self-perceptions and developing new ones.

The theoretical background and inspiration for Value Analysis lies primarily with a group of American psychologists who work with an INTEGRAL developmental model of consciousness. The best known of these psychologists is Ken Wilber.

Ken Wilber developed a 4-quadrant model that in its totality encompasses all the dimensions in which consciousness develops.

Central to Ken Wilber’s theoretical universe is the notion that consciousness, as determined by the way we think (knowledge and attention), our values (what we consider most important in life) and our identity (self-perception from the inside out and the outside in), develops in stages, each stage characterized by the way we understand the world around us.

Each stage of human development is characterized by qualitatively different ways of experiencing ourselves in the world. This applies to the way we think, feel and act in the world, the way we perceive the limits and possibilities of reality, the way we create relationships with other people and much more.

On a more concrete level in relation to the development of the actual model behind the Value Analysis, we are inspired by the American psychologist Susanne Cook-Greuter, who has developed a model for The Leadership Development Framework. Here she focuses on the upper left quadrant of Ken Wilbert’s model, the development of the self from within. The self contains a cognitive, an emotional and an action dimension. It is the self as this self interprets the world from within on the basis of thoughts, feelings and experiences/actions.

While Ken Wilber is the foremost developer of integral theories and models, another American psychologist, Robert Kegan, is the one who has most thoroughly developed a modern theory of the development of consciousness and personality, where he, like Ken Wilber, delineates and determines a number of stages in the individual’s personal development. Robert Kegan is inspired by Piaget, Erikson and Maslow, and continues their work in developmental psychology.

Robert Kegan is thus, as well as Ken Wilber, part of the origin of the more concrete model that Cook-Greuter develops. And common to all these theorists is, as mentioned, THAT THEY CREATE A THEORY OF PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT THAT INCLUDES STAGES IN THIS DEVELOPMENT.

It is also important to note with Robert Kegan that…”We are not our stages, we are not the self who hangs in the balance at this moment in our evolution. We are the activity of this evolution. We compose our stages, and we experience this composing.” (Robert Kegan: “The Evolving self” page 169)

Similarly, values are not something static and unchanging when we consider the adult individual, the object of Cook-Greuter’s models. We evolve throughout our adult life and therefore move through several stages of personal development.

Evolution is a qualitative change in consciousness. The old assumptions and truths are rejected in favor of new truths. It is also central that you take the old assumptions into the new phase, but now consciously so that you can reflect on them. A given phase thus contains all previous phases.

Central to any phase is the relationship between self and others. Thus, a greater understanding of the people around us is the central point of conflict and the crucial development path.

Greater maturity means greater awareness and understanding of the relationship between self and others. In this context, maturity is a question of deepening already existing relationships, feeling greater responsibility towards the other, knowing how I affect others, increasingly understanding other people’s ways of reacting, etc.
/Flemming Olsen

Values platform # 1

The Norm Driven Platform

Being governed by external norms. Focus on integration – starting from others, being part of others, not standing out from others

Duty & Adaptation

  • The adapted and norm-driven person
  • Thinking about gaining acceptance and recognition from others
  • Basic feelings are duty, fear of being different and fear of the unknown
  • Relationships with others are based on adaptation. The conformist suppresses conflicts, problems and own feelings
  • Acts according to the norms set by others and who are friends and who are enemies (We and the others)
  • Fear making mistakes and expressing forbidden emotions (Shame)

Duty. Not highlighting and exposing yourself, keeping your emotions inside, avoiding conflict and keeping things bottled up. Knowing what you can and can’t do, complying. Being obedient and self-controlled and not being a burden to others. Accepting what is given to you and being modest and humble

Duty

Adaptation. Being nice in the eyes of others and living up to their expectations. Being polite and behaving in a neat and orderly manner. To be skilled, fit and free from faults. Staying in shape, not standing out and not stepping aside.

Adaptation

Values platform # 2

The Authoritative Platform

To embrace authority and define oneself as a responsible and autonomous person. Focus on differentiation – being different from others and starting from the self

  • The adult, mature and authoritative/responsible person
  • Thinks about living up to the goals, standards and ideals he/she sets for himself/herself
  • The basic feeling is responsibility and freedom
  • Recognizes the value of others and seeks relationships to gain something and/or learn more about themselves
  • Acts in relation to being useful and finding the truth about themselves in their differences from others
  • Fear of not living up to own standards (Guilt)

Responsibility. Taking responsibility for yourself and others, living up to your own goals and standards, being competent and mastering life, understanding yourself, setting high goals, striving for personal progress, self-management, captaining your own ship, choosing your own goals.

Benefit

Utility. Gain advantage, see your opportunities, be alert and resourceful, take advantage of every opportunity, compete with others. Strive for success and become the best in your field. Result and benefit seeking.

Responsibility

Values platform # 3

Dialog Platform

To meet the other person as they are and without reservations. Focus on integration – meeting people and connecting with all humanity

  • The humanistic and relationship-oriented person
  • Thinks of themselves as part of humanity – the common humanity
  • The basic feeling is closeness, connection and contact with something greater than oneself
  • Relationships with others are meaningful in themselves and are based on depth, intimacy and dialog
  • Acts in relation to creating balance and harmony with oneself and one’s surroundings
  • Does not fear saving humanity from evil and misfortune

Insight. To meet fellow human beings and find what we have in common. Believing in love and fighting for equality, respect and tolerance. To have a deep insight into both yourself and the other and learn through reflection. To create deep friendships and mature love.

Care

Caring. Understanding and caring for the other, empathizing and paying attention to the other, listening, receiving and participating. Being generous, charitable and helpful. Believing the best in other people.

Insight

Values platform # 4

Opinion Makers Platform

To be in touch with oneself, one’s own being and one’s own history, to be who one is and seek fulfilment and meaning. Focus on differentiation and integration, thinking in wholes and contexts

  • The holistic and value-oriented person
  • Considers their own and others’ achievement of insights about themselves and life paths
  • The basic feeling is that there are universal truths and values.
  • Everything is man-made
  • In the relationship, he/she is the counselor, life finder and the one who selflessly wants others to grow
  • Acts in relation to being in touch with themselves and their inner life
  • Fearful of not being able to help people and humanity enough, of not being able to defend the great and universal values

Universality. Ethical commitment and responsibility to the great and universal values of justice, peace, goodness and beauty. Finding your true and authentic self, inner balance and wisdom, and helping others to grow. Seeing the big picture and intuitively understanding the big picture.

Authenticity

Authenticity. The personal perspective, your interpretation depends on your own position, everyone can be what they want to be, everything is equally valuable, individualism, open-mindedness, breaking old assumptions, finding your unique talent, finding your own path. Who am I and where am I going?

Universality

Integration

To start from oneself

Differentiation

Building on others

Integration and Differentiation in IPA Value Analysis

A key concept for personal development as both Ken Wilber and Robert Kegan – and thus also Cook-Greuter – see it is the contradiction between differentiation and integration… To start from oneself or to start from others.

According to Robert Kegan, the world is constructed through relationships. People are fundamentally their relationships, and the crucial pendulum swing of development is the movement between Integration – being like others and Differentiation – being oneself. These two positions belong together and cannot be separated, and personal development occurs in the dynamic between the two apparent opposites. They are the force that moves us from one stage, from one position to the next. On our journey through life, we both develop the self, i.e. we create our personal identity and self-perception through looking at the world from the inside out, AND we enter into and develop relationships and thereby learn to look at the world from the outside in. A balanced self-awareness requires both views.

Pendulum movement in IPA Value Analysis

This is the basic developmental pendulum swing. And as we shall see, this pendulum swing will be a central part of the more concrete model behind the development of Value Analysis.

Thus, a growing understanding of ourselves in relation to people and people in relation to ourselves is the central point of conflict and the crucial dynamo for our development path. Development and maturation as a human being always involves a greater awareness and understanding of the relationship between myself and others. Maturity is therefore a question of self-awareness and self-knowledge from within, but also a question of deepening existing relationships, feeling greater responsibility towards the other, knowing how I affect others, increasingly understanding other people’s ways of reacting, being able to see through increasingly complex systems, being able to think in paradoxes and polarities, being able to handle dilemmas, etc.

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