What are values?

Understanding your core values—the principles that guide your decisions, relationships, and priorities—is a vital step in becoming a confident and authentic leader. When your leadership style aligns with your values, you’re more resilient, motivated, and trusted by others. For women, who often navigate competing expectations, leading from a place of clarity and conviction is especially powerful.

Values are the deeply held beliefs that define what matters most to you. They shape how you see success, how you handle conflict, and what kind of impact you want to make. Examples of values include integrity, freedom, collaboration, growth, compassion, fairness, or excellence.

What is the Holland Test and how can it be used in discovering your leadership potential?

The Holland Test, also known as the RIASEC model, was developed by American psychologist John L. Holland in the 1950s and 60s. His theory, called the Theory of Career Choice, proposed that people are happiest and most successful when their work environment matches their personality type and core values. This idea became the foundation for many career guidance tools used around the world today.

Holland identified six personality types—often represented by the acronym RIASEC:

1. Realistic – Practical, hands-on, prefers physical activities or working with tools.
2. Investigative – Analytical, curious, enjoys thinking, researching, or problem-solving.
3. Artistic – Creative, expressive, values originality and freedom.
4. Social – Supportive, empathetic, motivated by helping others.
5. Enterprising – Ambitious, persuasive, values leadership and influence.
6. Conventional – Organized, detail-oriented, prefers structure and routine.

Each type reflects underlying values such as independence, structure, creativity, service, or influence. Understanding your dominant types helps you clarify what truly matters to you and how you lead and make decisions.

While the Holland model is typically used for career guidance, it’s also a powerful tool for leadership self-awareness. By identifying which environments energize you and which values guide your choices, you can:

• Lead in a way that feels authentic, not forced.
• Choose leadership roles aligned with your natural strengths and motivations.
• Build teams that reflect diverse personality types and values.
• Make decisions that stay true to your personal and professional purpose.

For example, a leader with strong Social and Enterprising types may value impact, empathy, and influence, driving them to lead with vision and care. Meanwhile, someone with Investigative and Conventional preferences might lead through precision, planning, and thoughtful strategy.

👉 The Holland Test can help you to understand your leadership values and, therefore, shape a career and leadership path that is both fulfilling and sustainable. You can use it together with other tools to get to know yourself better, discover your strengths, and set goals based on those discoveries. Eager to try? Take the task, use the inspirations and sources below, and later go to Chapter 3 to learn how to set achievable goals based on your inner potential.