I have been asked by a trainee SilkeyWay Value Coach about my views on the difference between needs and values.
There are a couple of theories that help us understand needs such as the well-known Maslow hierarchy of needs and Ryan and Deci’s Self-Determination Theory. Kegan’s Adult Development Theory also adds a perspective.
From Maslow we learn that we first need to satisfy basic (deficit-) needs before we can thrive in living our values in the self-actualisation phase. This also explains how people who are struggling to survive (physiological needs of food, water) won’t be interested in understanding their values as they need to satisfy their physiological and physical safety needs first.
In other words, there are some needs that might clearly not be values, e.g. food and water. There are needs like social connection that overlap but to vastly different degrees: some value it hugely and others put other values much higher.
In my experience, there is increasing overlap with the higher needs and for some safety or security is already both a need and a value. Ultimately, what is most important for us value coaches is to establish what the client sees/perceives and ultimately chooses as their value (something they want to honour).
I am a big fan of Self-Determination Theory and it states (unlike Maslow) that all humans have 3 universal needs for autonomy, mastery and relatedness before they can benefit from intrinsic motivation (as opposed to external carrot and stick motivation). I have myself often wondered whether this means that we all also have these three as values and have checked against my clients value compasses. It turns out that most (not all!) have a version of mastery (often expressed as ‘achievement’) and relatedness (often expressed as ‘connection’ or ‘family’) and some also a version of autonomy (often expressed as ‘freedom’ or ‘independence’). However, not all show all three and everyone puts different priorities and different names/meaning to each of them. I believe that this is what makes value work so powerful, the fact that it takes account of the individual’s unique and personal expressions and priorities – rather than a one-size-fits-all
In summary, there are a few needs that are clearly basic (deficit) needs and not values. There are a few needs stated by some theories that overlap and could also be consciously chosen values by our clients. These are often expressed/named in unique ways by the client and also prioritised uniquely in their value ranking. This can’t be predicted by theory, at least in my experience it varies substantially by person.
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