What does care mean as a core value?
Care as a core value means paying steady, everyday attention to how other people are doing and taking practical steps to look after them, in ordinary times as well as hard ones.
Somebody usually notices that a team member has gone quiet, remembers that a friend’s mum is in hospital, or checks the elderly neighbour has what she needs when it snows. If care is one of your core values, that somebody is often you. Other people’s wellbeing feels like part of your responsibility. You don’t wait for a crisis, and you rarely think of it as anything special. Looking after people is simply what you do, day in and day out, often without anyone quite noticing how much of it there is.
What does care look like in practice?
- You check in on a colleague who’s been off sick before they come back.
- You notice when someone hasn’t eaten, slept or taken a break, and say so.
- You remember the details of people’s lives and ask about them later.
- You adjust a plan so the person who’s struggling isn’t left behind.
- You take on the practical jobs, like lifts, meals and paperwork, when someone is going through a hard time.
When is care overplayed?
Care overdone can become caretaking: doing things for people that they could do for themselves, or worrying on their behalf until they feel managed more than looked after. It can also leave you running on empty, with nobody looking after the person who looks after everyone. The grounded version trusts people’s capability and includes you in the circle of care. It’s worth asking whether your care is helping someone stand up, or quietly keeping them leaning on you.
Often confused with
Care vs Compassion
Compassion is a response to suffering. Care is ongoing attention to someone’s wellbeing, including when nothing is wrong.
Care vs Kindness
Kindness is warmth in how you treat people moment to moment. Care is a sustained commitment to how someone is actually doing.
Care vs Support
Support is being there when it counts, often at a particular moment. Care is the everyday looking after that happens around those moments.
Questions to sit with
- Who looks after you, and how easy do you make it for them?
- Where might your care be doing something for someone that they’d grow from doing themselves?
- Which people get your care by default, and who tends to be left out?
More values in Care
Looking out for others, especially those in need.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
Find your own
Is Care one of your core values?
Choose from 155 values, narrow them down to the few that matter most, and get a personal report to keep. Free, and it takes about 15 minutes.
Find your core values