Core value · Freedom family
Privacy
Keeping parts of life to yourself
Also covers Discretion
What does privacy mean as a core value?
Privacy as a core value means choosing carefully what you share and with whom, keeping some parts of your life for yourself and protecting other people’s confidences.
Some things feel better kept close. You have parts of your life you keep for yourself or a small circle, and you’re careful about who learns what. Behind that is a sense that some things lose something when they’re made public, and that everyone deserves a space nobody else gets into. You’re discreet with other people’s stories too. Oversharing cultures and nosy questions can feel like a quiet intrusion.
What does privacy look like in practice?
- You keep your social media locked down, or don’t use it at all.
- You keep what a colleague told you in confidence to yourself, even when it would make a good story.
- You answer personal questions at work in a friendly way that gives little away.
- You question what personal data an app or form really needs before filling it in.
- You need time alone at home, behind a closed door that others respect.
When is privacy overplayed?
Guarding yourself closely can leave people feeling kept at a distance. Colleagues may read your reserve as not trusting them, friends may hear about big events in your life after everyone else, and a team can struggle to support a leader who never shows what’s going on. Privacy can also slide into hiding things others genuinely need to know. In balance, it is discreet by choice. You could pick one person this month and tell them a little more than usual, then notice what it does for the relationship.
Often confused with
Privacy vs Transparency
Transparency opens information up; privacy decides carefully what stays closed. They can live together: you can be open about decisions and private about your personal life.
Privacy vs Independence
Independence is about not relying on others. Privacy is about what you share, and you can depend on people a lot while keeping much of yourself to yourself.
Privacy vs Trust
Trust is confidence in other people. Someone who values privacy can trust people completely and still choose not to tell them everything.
Questions to sit with
- What are you keeping private that someone close to you would want, or need, to know?
- Where did you learn that sharing personal things was risky?
- How do you decide who gets to know the real story?
More values in Freedom
Independence, choice and room to be yourself.
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.
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