Values › Skill › Resourcefulness
Core value · Skill family
Resourcefulness
Finding a way with what you have
What does resourcefulness mean as a core value?
Resourcefulness as a core value means finding a practical way to get things done with whatever time, money, people and kit you have, especially when the obvious route is closed.
Short on budget, time or kit? That’s often when you start thinking hardest. If resourcefulness is a core value, you take pride in finding a way when the obvious route is closed. You’d happily improvise with what’s in the cupboard while others wait for the perfect ingredients. You tend to know who can help, where the spare equipment lives and which rule has a sensible workaround. Watching someone give up because the ideal conditions aren’t there can frustrate you.
What does resourcefulness look like in practice?
- You fix the broken stand with a cable tie and get the event started on time.
- You find a free alternative to the software the team was about to pay for.
- You call in a favour from an old contact when the usual supplier lets you down.
- You make a proper dinner out of whatever’s left in the fridge.
- You adapt last year’s project plan and save yourself the blank page.
When is resourcefulness overplayed?
Making do can become a habit that costs more than it saves. You patch things that need proper investment, take pride in workarounds that leave others unsure how things really run, or refuse resources on offer because managing without feels more virtuous. Teams can come to rely on your improvising while the system stays broken. Healthy resourcefulness knows when a clever fix is enough and when it’s time to ask for the right tools. You could keep a list of your workarounds and fix one properly each quarter.
Often confused with
Resourcefulness vs Creativity
Creativity is making something original. Resourcefulness is practical: solving the challenge in front of you with whatever’s at hand, original or not.
Resourcefulness vs Adaptability
Adaptability is adjusting to changed circumstances. Resourcefulness is actively making things work within limits, often by using what others overlooked.
Resourcefulness vs Independence
Independence is not relying on others. Resourcefulness often leans on other people: knowing exactly who to call and what to borrow.
Questions to sit with
- Which workaround of yours has quietly become permanent when it could have been fixed properly?
- When did you last turn down help or budget because managing without felt better?
- What would you attempt if you stopped waiting for better conditions?
More values in Skill
Competence, intelligence and doing things well.
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 Resourcefulness 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