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Here's the next in our series of weekly managerial TIPS (Techniques, Insights, and Practical Solutions)
to help you better engage your team in the activities that lead to higher performance.
CORE Bites Issue #99
(November 3, 2020)
I'm pretty sure that when you read the title of this CORE Bites issue you were left wondering why you would ever want to put a 'leash' on something like passion. Don't we want more passion in the workplace? Aren't we already concerned about the lack of passion in the workplace? Doesn't this thinking fly in the face of everything we're trying to do to increase employee engagement? All good questions ...
Passion in and of itself isn't the issue; instead, what is becoming more and more problematic is how people interpret "passion"—especially in the context of their respective careers. Think about it this way. Commencement speeches are one of the great academic traditions and, in the majority of cases, the last lesson graduating students hear before entering the real world of work. Having watched some of the top graduation speeches of all time, I've found a recurring theme that starts with a variation of "Follow your passion" and then—in every case—that message is followed with substantive pragmatic and down-to-earth advice on how to embrace work and build a successful career.
The trouble is many people walk away from these speeches only remembering the "follow your passion" segment while the rest of the advice provided is ignored or simply overlooked. This could explain why so many job seekers list "pursuing my passion" as an important goal when looking for work. The challenge here? Most people's passions have little connection to the world of work. In a social-media-induced culture that implies that everyone should (and could) transform their passions into lucrative careers—and then portrays a celebrity movie star or a celebrity athlete as an example—it's no wonder so many people in contemporary workplaces suffer from endless job swapping, professional discontent, and restless dissatisfaction.
As a pragmatist, let me offer up another way to look at passion. Passion is not something you find, but rather, it's something you DEVELOP. Consequently, passion shouldn't be defined simply by what you love to do; nor should it be defined by what you find fun doing; instead, the type of passion that makes a real difference is the passion that comes from what you CARE about.
I'm a big fan of the psychologist and author Carol Dweck (Mindset, 2006) who pioneered the seminal research on Growth Mindset. Through her research she demonstrated that some people tend to see their abilities as 'fixed' meaning you either have an inherent talent for something or you don't. Others have a 'growth mindset' meaning they believe that their abilities can change over time. Extrapolating upon that theory, people with a fixed mindset think that passion only comes once they've found the right career; the right fit; the right workplace. Conversely, people with a growth mindset believe that passion can be developed ... and that it grows over time.
It's time to move beyond the idea of "finding" passion—as if there is this one perfect job out there that you just need to discover to be happy—and, instead, develop the passion in what you do! If you do, you will never cease to grow!
Study your personal habits and behaviors (and the thought process leading up to these actions) to determine which are driven by a 'fixed' mindset and which are driven by a 'growth' mindset. Learn to recognize the triggers and then use the HVAs below to develop/augment your passion. [Note: You can also use this approach to help your employees develop a 'growth' mindset.]
I'd love to hear how these HVAs work for you!
Neil Dempster, PhD, MBA
RESULTant™ and Behavioral Engineer
"There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
— Nelson Mandela —