Help people perform with passion
Do you know how to help managers bring their passion to work? Here Clive Lewis, MD of Illumine, looks at why this is important, what’s involved and how trainers and facilitators can bring a commercial edge to an emotional subject.
I was speaking to a trainer the other day. On his courses he asks delegates how much of themselves they hold back at work. What people tell him is revealing. Most delegates tell him that they hold at least 30 percent of their energy in reserve and some suggest that given the right conditions they could operate at double their current level of performance.
This is extremely telling. There is a reservoir of energy waiting to be tapped by those who know how to get at it. So what can trainers and managers do to engage their people so that they bring more of their inspiration and passion to work?
Of course many people are disaffected at work. Too many employees appear to accept that the work in which they are engaged is intrinsically unfulfilling. Perhaps that is why a reported 80% of people, when they are away on holiday, dream of handing in their notice as soon as they return. But is this because work is just too demanding or could it be that there is an ingredient missing which, if it could be found, would transform this disaffection?
There is a challenge and an opportunity here. How can we - as trainers, managers, coaches and facilitators - help to get the people we work with to engage in things that matter to them? How can we ignite people’s passion so that they want and feel able to make a difference? How can we make work a place where people don’t just tolerate the work they are given but drive the agenda so that they are inspired by what they are up to?
If you think this is too big a request then my advice to you is to think again. Some people do bring their passion to work and surprise surprise, such people are typically those who deliver the best results. So what is it that makes people passionate? Well let’s be clear. Passion is more than just having an interest in something. It’s about being fired up. It’s about wanting something badly and then going out and doing something about it. And this passion doesn’t have to be ‘worthy’. It doesn’t have to be about some grand cause. Passion happens inside you when you are involved in an activity or line of work that is meaningful and you are able to make progress on.
For people in the HR and training world this is extremely relevant. We know that people make the most difference when they are highly motivated and this understanding gives us a key to unlock that door. It becomes our job then to understand passion better and find ways to help people make the impact that they want to and are capable of making.
The need for meaning and action
Given the above context let me distinguish what I have come to recognise are two vital aspects of passion that have to be taken into account if you want to help people release their energy at work. The first of these is all about what gives people a sense of meaning. The second focus is all about the actions that need to be taken for people to get a sense that they are making progress towards their dreams.
The model below will help you to see how these two factors inter-relate. In essence a high sense of meaning without action will only leave people feeling frustrated or give them a sense that they are pursuing a dream that is always out of reach. But action on its own without a sense of meaning leaves people under-performing or feeling they are involved in work they don’t care about - and in this scenario it’s no surprise they leave their inspiration at home.
The ideal, of course, is for individuals to find the balance of both ‘work’ that feels meaningful to them, and clear ‘action’ which takes them toward the future that they care about. This is when you get into territory where energy and motivation are high, and the impact people have on others is powerful – we call this PassionFlow!™.
Of course this notion of helping others work in the flow with passion will be an extremely attractive one for many people but what exactly is it that gives people a sense of meaning at work and how can we in our industry help people to identify it?
The way in which we can help people to get in touch with their passion is by working 1:1 and/or with teams to identify first of all what it is that’s important to the individuals concerned. Some people, for example, will feel passionate about contributing to their community. Others will feel the same about implementing systems that improve efficiency or delivering great customer care. In short, people will feel passionate when they are invested in the work they are doing.
This means that their engagement can be found here and now. People don’t need to go looking elsewhere to find their passion. And coaching and facilitation can be a passive help in this process because most people need help in identifying what it is that inspires them, what gives them a sense of pride and what has them feeling fulfilled. And this help will include working with people to address all sides of this issue by using questions and insights, reflection time and constructive challenge. Why? Because there isn’t a single answer to what it is that gives people a sense of meaning - the exploration is to help the individual employee find their own answer.
To provide a case study of this approach in action let me outline the challenge that Dave faced. Dave was a senior manager who, when we started working with him, had no idea what gave him any sense of meaning at work. Co-incidentally at the time Dave started looking at the issue of his passion at work, he was thinking about turning down a promotion because he didn’t know whether it was the right move or not. What he identified through his coaching however, was that he got motivated by working with dysfunctional teams and turning them into high-performers. On assessing the promotion within this context, Dave realised the team he’d be taking over in the new job was completely dysfunctional. It was the perfect fit and so he quickly said yes.
In essence what Dave had uncovered through the coaching he received was that he got a sense of fulfilment or meaning from helping others fulfil their potential. This was his passion. And Dave then used the principles he’d discovered for himself with his team – helping them to explore their passion. And through this conversation with his people he helped his whole team build a sense of purpose which had previously been missing.
Such leadership can change cultures fast. Indeed leaders and managers can play a life-changing role in inviting people to look at how they can align themselves with their passion.
So is it such a big leap for organisations to start taking the issue of passion at work seriously? The good news is that the corporate mood music has begun to change. Employee engagement is firmly on the management agenda. And while you will still find directors who want to major on cost-cutting, efficiency measures and running the numbers there are many who are more closely in tune with management thinkers such as Steven Covey, author of ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ who suggests that ‘when work has meaning it inspires us to deliver extraordinary results’.
This argument makes sense. In short, passionate people are likely to bring much more vitality and enthusiasm to their work than those who have to be urged to work harder. More than this, the energy of people engaged in what they care about is contagious. This means that they generally have a positive impact on their colleagues and their culture.
The missing spark
So for those who think that in these difficult times we don’t have time for passion there’s a plea here; don’t forget that it is the energy and inspiration which people bring to work that makes the big difference. In your job as a trainer, coach or facilitator you have a unique opportunity to help people find this missing spark at work. The way to find this spark is to work with people both 1:1 and in teams so that they identify their sense of meaning and take actions that are aligned with their dreams.
Helping people to develop a strong sense of purpose at work is incredibly satisfying. It helps people to have wings, it releases their energy, it helps them to break through seemingly intractable problems. For many managers and HR professionals this will surely be worth exploring further because, in essence, it provides the foundation for business breakthrough and people transformation.
PassionWorks!™ is a unique approach to employee motivation and engagement, developed specifically to help us to understand and enhance the component parts of passion at work. Find out more here…