I recently revisited the VIA Values in Action assessment and was surprised to see that my strengths have changed so dramatically since I did it back in 2014.
At the time, my motivation levels in my corporate role were at rock bottom. I was pregnant, living in Greater London, and commuting to an office role. The oil price fell from a peak of around $115 per barrel in June 2014 to roughly $57 per barrel by the end of December 2014, a drop of about 50%, which once again meant the inevitable crisis town hall meetings, cost-cutting, and redundancy rounds.
For those who may not be familiar, the VIA (Values in Action) Assessment is a widely recognised, free, and scientifically validated test focusing on character strengths. It helps identify a hierarchy of 24 positive traits, which are categorised into six core virtues. Back in 2014, my top 5 strengths profile looked like this:
Prudence: Being careful about one’s choices; not taking undue risks; not saying or doing things that might later be regretted.
Self-Regulation: Regulating what one feels and does; being disciplined; controlling one’s impulses and emotions.
Perseverance: Finishing what one starts; persevering in a course of action despite obstacles.
Leadership: Encouraging a group of which one is a member to get things done and at the same time maintain good relations.
Teamwork: Working well as a member of a group or team; being loyal to the group; doing one’s share.
Looking back, I felt the results accurately reflected my strengths in action, trying to “keep it together”. I needed to demonstrate these actions to fit into the corporate world. I can imagine all these qualities being listed on my job description and being scored in an interview.
But was I happy? Certainly not.
Fast Forward
Fast forward 11 years, and I just took the VIA assessment again. This time, my results were:
Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence: Noticing and appreciating beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in various domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.
Honesty: Speaking the truth, but more broadly, presenting oneself in a genuine way and acting in a sincere way; being without pretence; taking responsibility for one’s feelings and actions.
Love of Learning: Mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge, whether on one’s own or formally; related to the strength of curiosity but goes beyond it to describe the tendency to add systematically to what one knows.
Love: Valuing close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing & caring are reciprocated; being close to people.
Humour: Liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people; seeing the light side; making (not necessarily telling) jokes.
If I had to choose from a list, I am confident I would have chosen these! I have evolved as a person and a professional. My career transition enabled me to utilise these characteristics more often and to a much deeper level, leading to a happier, more fulfilling life.
This personal realisation highlights the link between aligning strengths and values and achieving success. When your daily work and professional identity (your brand) force you to operate by “masking” strengths (like Prudence and Self-Regulation to fit a corporate mould), it can result in unhappiness or worse, burnout. Genuine fulfilment and professional success, however, come from intentionally building a career around your core values and signature strengths. These are the ones that energise you and shine through naturally.
The Happiness Questions
Given that identifying and leveraging strengths, values and work alignment is the foundation of a powerful, sustainable, and happy career, I recommend self-assessments like VIA as a great starting point. But they can be risky without the guidance of a professional career coach.
An expert coaching partnership ensures you move beyond surface-level results to achieve genuine self-awareness and actionable insight. That’s why whenever I work with clients to discuss strengths and values, we always make time to consider the answers to questions like:
• Just because you are good at it, does it make you happy?
• If you continue operating this way for five more years, how will you feel?
• If this strength disappeared tomorrow, would you miss it, or would you feel relieved?
• Does this strength allow you to show up as your authentic self?
• Are you using this strength to hide a fear?
Interestingly, the old top five still appear on my list but are buried in the lower ranks (Prudence 24, Self-Regulation 23, Perseverance 22, Teamwork 21, and Leadership 20). They’re still part of me, but what really matters to me is shining through.
Ask yourself: Just because you are good at it, does it make you happy?
About the Author:
Amelia Brooke is a certified career transition coach, interview coach and CV writer who works with some of the world’s top professionals. Drawing on her background in recruitment and ability to uncover potential, she helps clients gain clarity, confidence, and direction, whether they’re changing industries, re-entering the workforce, or preparing for their next big move. Amelia specialises in helping individuals articulate their unique value through powerful career storytelling, enabling them to show up with authority and confidence.
