Becoming You - What we learned from Suzy Welch

Do you know your values? You might think you know your values, but are you living your values, right now? 

In this short episode, Judy Oskam reflects on a recent experience she shared with her daughter, Danielle. Together, they attended the Becoming You intensive led by Dr. Suzy Welch at the NYU Stern School of Business. The New York workshop centered on values and purpose. It encouraged participants to explore what matters most and to design a life that aligns with those priorities.

Judy shares insights about tools such as the Values Bridge assessment, the Enneagram, and various aptitude tests. She also includes a short soundbite with Dr. Welch, about advice for new graduates.  Later, Dani offers her perspective on how what the process revealed to her.

In this Episode You’ll Learn

• Why self-discovery is a lifelong journey
• How the Values Bridge assessment measures the gap between your current and ideal life
• How Dr. Suzy Welch advises students to begin their careers
• What the “Four Horsemen” framework reveals about barriers to growth
• Dani's insights from the workshop

Quotes

“Self-discovery isn’t a one-time thing. It’s really an ongoing journey.” – Judy Oskam

“You have to know your values. You can’t be guessing.” – Dr. Suzy Welch

“The more you know about yourself, the better you are able to navigate through undiscovered things.” – Danielle Oskam

I hope this episode encourages you to keep learning, reflect on your values, and stay open to growth. Thanks for listening!  

Resources and Links

• Suzy Welch – NYU Stern Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing
• Try the Four Horsemen Quiz – a free tool 
• Learn more about the Becoming You program and methodology.

Please follow along for real stories, take away a little wisdom and maybe find something that helps you figure out what's next.  

Transcript

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Introduction to Self-Discovery Experience

Judy Oskam 0:02

Hey , welcome back everyone . I'm Judy Oskam and in this solo episode of Stories of Change and Creativity , I want to share an experience that I had recently that had a big impact on me and maybe you might find it interesting . As a professor at Texas State , learning is part of my daily life . I think that's maybe why I became a professor , so I could just keep learning forever . I did that as my job as a journalist , where I was learning and interviewing people , and then in public relations , but maybe that's really why I kind of got into academia . I really enjoy working with smart students and faculty . My main goal with students is to help them master the course content and prepare them for a career . But that's just the beginning . What matters maybe even more is learning about yourself . What makes you tick , how you learn , where your strengths and talents show up . That kind of self-knowledge really becomes the foundation for everything else and it helps you design your life . It puts you in the driver's seat .

Becoming You at NYU Stern

Judy Oskam 1:11

Earlier this month , my daughter Danielle and I attended the Becoming You three-day intensive at NYU Stern with Dr Suzy Welch . She directs the Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing at the NYU Stern School of Business . She created the Becoming You methodology as part of her doctoral research . The program and the three-day workshop , if you will , was full of lectures , exercises and assessments . Dr Welch challenged us to think deeply about who we are and what we value and how we live our lives around those values , and one of the most fascinating tools was the values bridge assessment . By answering questions , the assessment ranks your values , but it also shows the variance or how far your current life is from your ideal life .

Judy Oskam 2:09

For me , that part of the assessment was eye-opening . For me , my top value was what's called beholderism , and what that means is that aesthetics are important to me . They matter how places , spaces and objects and people look and feel . But my variance was high . It showed I needed and I crave more beauty , more order and more design in my world , and I can relate to that because at this point in my life I can see that I really do . It would benefit from that . My second value was what Susie calls eudaimonia , and that's all about fun , enjoyment and well-being . My variance was high there too , which makes sense . I'm always looking for ways to add joy to my life and make things more fun .

Judy Oskam 3:05

But we didn't stop there . We also explored the Enneagram , the PIE 360 , and an aptitude test and a megatrends assessment . Each one gave us another layer of data and another layer of insight about how we show up in the world , and what struck me the most especially sharing it with Danny is that self-discovery isn't a one-time thing . It's really an ongoing journey , and at this workshop there were people from all ages and all careers and all stages of their life . It was fascinating , and I was excited to grab a quick soundbite with Suzy Welch about graduating seniors and what advice she has for students that are just about to launch their career .

Dr. Suzy Welch

Suzy Welch 3:57

I think you have to know your values . You have to . You can't be guessing and you can't be changing them for what you're being told you should do . You need to dig deep and do the testing and know your aptitudes and then figure out what work calls you emotionally and intellectually and do the synthesis of that and start your job journey there .

Judy Oskam 4:14

And I love the four horsemen , is that a good place to start for them too .

Suzy Welch 4:18

It's very important to find out which horseman is getting in the way of you living your values . Is it expectations , is it expedience , is it events , or is it economic security ? Get to the bottom of that before you go anywhere . This has been great , great for me .

Judy Oskam 4:32

I've enjoyed it a lot . If you had to do this over knowing now what you know now , where would you start ?

Suzy Welch 4:36

What would you do differently , and that's a big question . That is a big question . I'm happy where I ended up . I probably just would have started this work earlier and just gone faster , but I got here .

Judy Oskam 4:50

When the workshop ended , dani and I headed to LaGuardia Airport , and while we waited for our flight , I asked her to share a couple of reflections , and I wanted you to hear her perspective

Daughter Danielle's Perspective

Judy Oskam 4:57

as well .

Danielle Oskam 4:59

Personally , I've done kind of extensive research before on my aptitudes , career and personal related , but it was cool to have that reaffirming data as well as some new information points that I hadn't really dug as deep into before . Like my values , I thought that was super super cool and the Enneagram that was interesting , that was . Enneagram was very interesting as well , that was right on target for me .

Judy Oskam 5:26

I don't know about you , but that was right on target for me . Mine was also right on target as well , yeah yeah , it was interesting . Well , it was intensive , it was three days . Oh , and now we go back and put it all together .

Judy Oskam 5:39

Figure out what to do with , and for me it was like a true north . It gave me some good direction and some affirmation , but a little bit of superpower , right ? Well , that's good . Well , I'm so glad that you came along for the ride , and I didn't know if you'd want to do this when I pitched it to you , but I'm glad that you came .

Danielle Oskam 5:59

Thank you for having me . I really wanted to do this because I feel like the more you know about yourself , the better that you are able to help yourself and navigate through some maybe unsaid things or undiscovered things . I love that . It's just a way for you to put words to this information .

Judy Oskam 6:23

It does kind of create a language around what you value and how you spend your time and your money and your life and your emotion and your energy . It was so pretty extensive . I thought it was very extensive but it was cool .

Judy Oskam 6:38

That's great . Well , honey , thank you , love you , babe , thank you , I love you too , love you , love you . Well , you can tell , we had a great time together and we learned a lot about each other , but mainly we learned about ourselves , and that was the whole

Final Reflections and Resources

Judy Oskam 6:52

point , right ? And I want to encourage you guys to keep learning and growing and you're listening to this podcast because you already have a growth mindset . I mean , that's sort of the profile of my listeners is you want to learn and grow , and hopefully we give you some nuggets every month that help you do that .

Judy Oskam 7:10

But I will list some of the resources from Suzy's initiative and I'll list the free quiz , which is the Four Horsemen quiz . It's just really a quick , easy way to reflect on your patterns and and your framework in life . So just keep learning and growing , and it's not just about your career but it's about how to design your life , a life that feels true to you and that you'll be happy with , and that's that's the goal , right ? I love it . Well , if you've got a story to share or know someone who does reach out to me , judyoskam . com . And thanks for listening .