Suzy Welch, award-winning professor at NYU Stern School of Business. She’s a change agent in the business ecosystem, having pioneered research on core values that helps to align businesses. An acclaimed researcher, popular podcaster, and three-time New York Times best-selling author, Welch has dedicated her career to helping individuals and organizations align their values with professional pursuits.
Welch is well known for crafting “The Values Bridge.” This groundbreaking assessment empowers individuals to discover and define their fundamental motivations. From her extensive study, she has distilled 15 core values that govern who we are as individuals and professionals. One of these is the value of Scope, which includes the value of stimulation, including learning, adventure, and novelty. Despite the significance of these values, Welch’s studies reveal an alarming statistic: only about 7% of adults possess a clear understanding of their core values.
At Welch’s university, her students participate in hands-on exercises designed to help them discover their values. Though she originally designed seven exercises to guide participants through this process, she quickly realized that they were not enough for a real deep dive. Welch emphasizes the importance of understanding one’s values in the context of career choices, stating that clarity in this area can lead to more fulfilling job experiences.
To further guide individuals in their job searches, Welch suggests a thought-provoking question: “What kind of person should not work at this company?” This question encourages both candidates and employers to think critically and introspectively about cultural fit and personal alignment with company values.
Welch illustrates with compelling examples how companies answer this question wholly differently. These examples provide a sense of the enormous variety of values that different agencies focus on. For instance, one company may identify “a person who doesn’t want to text on weekends” as unsuitable for their culture, underscoring a commitment to work-life integration. Another company might say they just need experts. They’ll dismiss the job seeker who wants to try branching out into a new function. A company might just as well want to avoid hiring “a person who’s overly friendly,” signaling that the workplace culture is more introverted.
This feature is crucial. She describes people who strengthen this value as wild at heart, adventurous, and hungry for new experiences. Her research outlines the ways in which adopting these values can meaningfully impact all aspects of one’s professional experience to a greater degree.
Welch is currently a Visiting Scholar at NYU Stern School of Business. She fundamentally believes that graduates should work in careers that nurture their internal compass. She encourages personal development. In the process, she’s helping to build workplaces where employees are passionate about and aligned with the company’s mission and culture.