Is the economy killing passion?
Is your passion for work likely to suffer because of the economic slowdown? Anthony Landale considers why this is a leadership issue that is more relevant than ever.
Are you energised by your work? Do you have a passion for what you do? Are you pursuing a big dream?
In the past few years we’ve heard a lot about the benefits of being ‘fully engaged’ and ‘passionate’ at work and it has sounded pretty good. The term passion is synonymous with notions of excitement, energy and satisfaction. But with increased uncertainty in business and with the dread word recession back in common parlance do we still have time for passion at work?
It could just be that it’s more important than ever as Clive Lewis, MD of illumine, explained.
“Of course some people get anxious when there is an economic slowdown but the way that the most proactive companies respond is by trying to deliver even more value. Passion is hugely relevant here. Companies need people who are fired up and on the front foot. In this context passion isn’t a ‘nice to have’, it’s a ‘must have’ quality that has to be present if you want to combat turbulent times.”
Illumine delivers the innovative PassionWorks!™ programme so Lewis knows his onions when it comes to what benefits can accrue from passion at work. Indeed he suggests that you only need to look at how people behave at a time of uncertainty to see the immediate effect it can have. “People who take a defensive/risk-averse position in a downturn will keep their heads down and will keep hoping that their problems will go away. These are understandable reactions but they are driven by fear and are highly unlikely to improve matters.
“In contrast people who care deeply about their work - in our terms people who are passionate - will be committed to what they are doing, will be much more creative in pursuing their goals and will be looking to find innovative solutions to the problems they face. This is just the sort of attitude that employers must be looking to develop in their workforce.”
OK. So passion is a good thing. Even in a recession. So how do we get it?
Ten ways to develop passion at work
1. Create the right conditions
According to the experts we can all choose to live passionately. But certain conditions can foster passion. So explore what has to be in place for you to be able to express your passion and ask yourself what you could do differently to have more passion flowing in your life
2. Practise your creativity
If you develop creativity you will be more likely to be passionate. But what does creativity involve? In this context it means feeling free to take calculated risks, it means being encouraged to be innovative; it means taking time to solve problems and making continuous learning a priority. At its base creativity means that you feel you are making a contribution that is fresh and original
3. Find shared meaning
At the root of passion is ‘meaning’ and ‘progress’ and meaning increases when other people care about the same things that you care about. In essence it is a lot easier to become passionate about work when you are surrounded by passionate people who share a common purpose with you.
4. Engage others in your dream
Engagement is key for helping build passion in teams. This means you not only have to share what it is that you care about but you have to help people see that your vision is something that could help them, the team and/or the business too.
5. Design your culture
What does it take to have people working together in a way that supports and sustains passion at work? There are no set answers here. Leaders of teams need to be committed to the team and encourage people to design the culture that works for them.
6. Get interested in what matters
We all have different interests and abilities but when it comes to passion we have to work at the things that matter to us. Whether it’s because it makes sense to you intellectually, you believe it makes a difference or you simply care about it, your challenge is seek out meaningful opportunities.
7. Get feedback
Use the usual review process by all means but often the most useful way of measuring your progress is to get feedback from colleagues. They will tell you what you are accomplishing and your openness to their feedback is essential in determining what a difference you are making and what impact you are having.
8. Be aligned with your values
It’s impossible to be passionate if what you are doing isn’t aligned with your personal values. So get clear on what it is that matters most to you - your moral compass.
9. Focus on why you matter
Passionate people light up when they talk about their work. They believe in it, they know why their work matters and they are committed to being excellent at it. This doesn’t matter whether you are selling cars, collecting refuse or teaching leadership - get clear on why your work matters.
10. Be goal orientated
Even when times are tough passionate people don’t lose sight of what they are up to. Things don’t always go smoothly but even when progress is slow you can use your goal like an anchor, working in ways that speak to your values, focusing on how you are doing your job, knowing that you are making a contribution.
Passion is a leadership issue
As has been intimated above there is a big role for leaders when it comes to passion. Indeed people who lead with passion will have more impact, will engender a greater sense of possibility in their followers and will make it easier for others to deliver success. In short passionate leaders make it far easier for others to access their own passion.
Said Lewis: “When it comes to passion leaders either tend to act as a wet blanket or as catalysts for inspiration. People take cues from their leaders and if the leader isn’t passionate then it seems that people start believing that either ‘that’s the way to get on around here’ or, alternatively, ‘they know something which we don’t that is making them behave like that.’ In either case the message they are sending out is a negative one.
“In contrast when people see leaders showing that they really care about shared goals and leaders who take action to support combined progress it gives people a renewed sense of belief and ambition. And what this suggests is that leaders have to visibly demonstrate their passion through consistent actions and communications.
“In the PassionWorks! Programme we help leaders get in touch with their own passion and what they care about. We help the talk authentically to their people about the difference they want to make and in this way powerfully engage their staff. And not surpringly this has a massive impact on morale, motivation and results.”
Conclusion
So the clear message here is that passion is very much a leadership priority. It gets people working with their heads-up, it encourages people to be proactive and it is an extremely sound strategy in times like we have today. So far from allowing the economy to kill passion in the workplace, leaders need to be calling for more passion at work.
For more information on PassionWorks! visit http://www.illumine.co.uk/motivate/passionworks-staff-engagement.html or call +44 (0)1753 866633 or email info@illumine.co.uk
Additional information
Defining passion
“Let’s be clear about how we define passion” said Lewis. “We have a simple model that suggests that on the one hand it’s about knowing what it is that brings meaning to you. On the other hand it’s about taking action that gives you a sense that you are making progress toward your goal. A dream without action will just lead to people fantasising about something that is always out of reach whilst work without meaning can lead to people feeling disengaged. Progress and action is vital here but it has to be aligned with the meaningful goal.
“Of course what inspires people or gives them a sense of meaning is different to each one of us. Some people will truly inspired by the detail of what they are doing. Others love working at the macro level. But how people feel when they are in this place of passion appears to be similar. Research from people who have found their passion at work suggests they feel good, rewarded, engaged, committed, proud and fulfilled at a core level. And when people lack meaning in their work they feel the same way too - empty, bored, tired, apathetic and cynical.
“Given how much time we spend at work there is little doubt about how people want to spend their time. It’s simply up to organizations and leaders to tap into this single resource that can make such a difference to people’s lives and their organisation’s performance.”