Foster Passion in the Workplace

Very rightly said, “If you love them, set them free!”

Of course, just to be clear, when I am talking about building the workforce you need for tomorrow means giving them wings to fly today and not referring to those sentimentally-driven aspirations. It looks like a huge win-win, isn’t it? According to Deloitte University Press, up to 87.7% of America’s workforce does not contribute to their full potential because they don’t have a passion for their work despite training and development activities. Perhaps more troubling that only 35% had the disposition to seek out challenges and only 38% reported seeking challenges, equally disheartening data. So what is passion, how does it apply to work and does it matter? As defined by Merriam-Webster, it is a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for doing something and certainly a powerful tool in your arsenal.

It is important to note that the terms “passion” and “engagement” are often used interchangeably to accommodate the needs when referring to employee work attitude and effort. Then, how to turn employees into explorers? When you head off to work, do you feel passionate about the opportunities or not even emotionally engaged at work? In the face of rapid technological change and global competition, we are focused on the wrong thing and that has shown the rise in employee disengagement. The answer to this is not to squeeze harder to improve performance, rather seek out the difficult channels, connect with others to find better solutions, and desire to make a significant impact. 

Why Passion Is Important And What Does A Passionate Employee Look Like?

1. Bring noticeable energy to their work and bring unique and valuable contributions to the table with a clear understanding of what is expected from them.
2. Passion encourages creativity for new, better, solutions to challenging problems.
3. Pursue excellence in every task, no matter how large or small it is and takes meaningful risks to improve performance.
4. They are happier to go to work each day with enthusiasm for the challenge rather than fear of failure.
5. Passion begets passion; they inspire others around them and perform at a higher level with each passing year.

This kind of passion is quite rare in today’s business world and not every company is going to take these steps.

Walk out do happen pretty much every day at the workplace, they are not just normally done with our feet instead they are invisible walkouts that happen with our hearts, hands, and with our voices. When an employee feels psychologically unsafe or unvalued they protest silently.

There Are Three Attributes To Work Up On To Avoid Checkouts

1. Unblock communication because walkouts only happen when an employee feels or experiences an identity threat. Passion sputters for workers who don’t believe their companies seriously consider their ideas and feedback as promising opportunities. To avoid this pitfall the employer needs to continually invite people to speak up at work on the issues that are hard for the management to hear. Also creating inter social networks between workers so that they are wired to seek others who can help them find their specific areas of expertise such as people with similar passion or interest or experience etc.

2. The second way to support passion is to become responsive because words without action are cynical, and when managers and employees are on the same page then the action is a natural next step. This helped people solve problems more effectively and support future collaboration, but here is the thing we are not always going to agree are we? So the whole job is to encourage dialogue and active collaboration.

3. The third way to support passion at work is to aim high. Life without passion is like living an empty life which does not lead to profit but poverty and not just financially. Each one of your employees has a passion burning inside them and if you want to bring out the very best in them then get to the heart of your employees’ passion. 

Below Are Three More Things Managers Can Do To Help Employees Apply Passion At The Workgroup Level Since We Know That Such Passion Does Not Grow On Trees.

1. Frame a few powerful questions as to what inspires you about your chosen career? How do you feel about working with others and what kind of work do you like? Use open-ended prompts as the determining element in the decision on whom to hire but this is not to say that experience and credentials are not important. Passion is contagious and this serves two purposes: First, led by example and make your passion visible through actions. Second, your actions will start to support each other’s passion.

2. Then, craft the job around their interest and build their capacity & efficacy. Sometimes the biggest obstacle to passion doesn’t put a workgroup on track and it’s all easy to get distracted along the way. Set high impact performance objectives and track their trajectory in their work.

3. Beyond setting an example and broadening their world, comes cultivating a workforce that is willing to take on the challenges of tomorrow. How to create a passion friendly environment? Giving the environment and experimenting with control is a good way to start fostering passionate behavior. It may seem like insurmountable odds to overcome but as a business leader, it is the most important thing to do. Creating an environment of trust, commitment, and understanding, one that gives them confidence that the organization values them. 

A final point, the low incidence of passion in today’s workforce might be discouraging and for too many, this passion does not extend to the workplace. As leaders, it is our job to find and cultivate passion in the workforce so that they can play a strength-based role in accelerating performance. Be transparent about the inconsistencies and try to reduce the fatal disease of cynicism so that it is rewarding for both employees and companies.