Passion - Influence: How to Become the Person Others Want to Follow

What can we learn from Hitler regarding leadership? Let me start by saying that I am ethnically a Jew, not religiously, but half of my family is Jewish. I don't support war. I don't promote violence. And saying that I'm not a fan of Hitler is an understatement.

If I were in Europe seventy years ago (or other locations throughout all of history – pick a time – there was a place), I would have suffered and been persecuted for no other reason than my heritage and my blood. So what trait did Hitler embody that garnered tremendous influence?

Passion
Yoda would say, "Misplaced his passion was." That again would be a gross understatement. And for the rest of this post – let's not mention his name again. He doesn't deserve to be glorified – but he definitely displayed intense, unquenchable passion. 

Let me caution you and take this as a lesson from many others in history –  the Crusades, the Inquisition, Rwanda, the Holocaust, wars in general, etc. These are often the results of misunderstandings mixed with anger, passion, and fear. Many people are passionate. That doesn't automatically make them a leader. And passionate leaders aren't always good leaders.

Passion is one of the most important qualities of a leader, but it can be and is often misplaced. That's why it isn't the first trait we covered. Passion hinges on humility and servitude. Those two traits temper passion and help to keep the focus in the right place – on promoting good and making the world better for others. And humility also recognizes that one thing most of us struggle to admit especially when we’re passionate – we could be wrong!

Passion doesn't equate to stubborn, childish ignorance. We need to see past ourselves and our perspective. A recipe for success should temper passion with humility and a large splash of being open to the viewpoints of others and different ways of solving problems. A great leader asks tough questions and searches out the best solutions to problems and realizes that their solution isn’t always what’s best. Wise counsel from those around us and the ability to listen to and follow that wise counsel are essential.

Intelligence, talent, and access to resources can all play important roles in leadership. But people rarely follow us simply because of them. We can be one of the kindest, most compassionate, and hard-working people on the planet and still find that we aren’t maximizing our influence.

Cue Passion
First – what is passion? There are many definitions floating around out there, but one stands out above the rest. I could not find who authored it, so if you know, I’d appreciate it so I can appropriately apply credit.

“Passion is when you put more energy into something than is required to do it. It is more than just enthusiasm or excitement. Passion is ambition that is materialized into action to put as much heart, mind, body and soul into something as possible.”

So What Makes Passion Important to Leadership and How Can You Find Yours?
That’s what we’ll talk about next Tuesday.

This week – let’s continue to grow in humility and our capacity to sacrifice for others, serve others, and forgive ourselves and others.

For now - how do you define passion? What drives you? Do you have any personal recommendations you’ve used to help find your passion or help others find theirs?

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Dan loves building relationships and encouraging others. He thrives when learning and sharing that knowledge. As a newly wed, he is greatly enjoying this period in life as family takes second in his "Five F's" (see profile). Dan has led various sales teams, served as president of multiple organizations, and coached in athletics. He has presented at leadership conferences and workshops. Dan currently works as a Director of Sales and mentors a group of high schoolers who are looking to grow and excel.

For other posts in this series: Please visit this page.