A values hierarchy is an ordered list of values within a certain context. The order matters — it determines what a person will prioritise when two values come into conflict.
How to elicit a values hierarchy:
- Ask: "What's important to you about [Business / Relationships / Health / other context]?"
- Ask: "What else?" — repeat until no more values come up
- When responses run out, prompt: "What else is important to you in the context of [context]?"
- Order the values: "If you could only have one of these values, which would you pick?" Continue ranking until all values are ordered
- Identify Away-from Values — these are values the person is trying to avoid. Since the unconscious mind cannot process a negative, people often find themselves attracted to the very things they are trying to avoid. Away-from values can be removed using timelines or by finding and releasing the limiting decision behind them: "When did you decide it was important for you to avoid ___?"
- Note that values are given meaning by their submodalities. By changing the submodalities, you can change the meaning and the priority of a value. For example, to raise the priority of a value from 6th to 2nd, elicit the submodalities of the 6th and 1st values, then shift the submodalities of the 6th to match the 1st and back off slightly. Warning: changing the meaning of a value can affect every aspect of a person's life.
See also: What are Values? | What are Submodalities? | What is NLP?