Purposeful Passion and Managing Engagement

No one I've ever met is actually against the idea of being passionate about one's work. But how passion is related to results, how it is channeled, and what keeps it going can generate a lot of buzz.

A good, hard look at passion shows that it is generated in great part by one's view of the value of that work, and not a mindless onslaught of emotional overload. As a result, the responsibility for channeling passion in organizations is the purview of managers and leaders.

Dr. Peter Vajda of SpiritHeart once noted that the soulful nature of a person's passion is "akin to an alchemic reaction that bubbles up from engaging activities."

Purposeful Passion and Engagement

What we're seeing here is the truth coming to the surface. Although passion may be an individual  experience, in the workplace it's the manager who is the mediator of passion.

Matching the right tasks with the right people breeds the kind of productive experience that offer satisfaction as a result of accomplishment. That kind of matching means that managers have to know their people well enough to know what their individual talents are--then use them accordingly. This does at least four things (you may want to add more):

1. It offers the opportunity for the company to benefit from the strengths that it supposedly hired.

2. It shows the employees that their talents are, indeed, recognized, and that they (the employees) aren't just "human" resources.

3. It shows the employees that their managers know "who they are and what they are all about."

4. It offers a genuine chance at a reality of "excellence" rather than "excellence" as a buzzword.

Maybe we should start referring to this as "guided passion": understanding the best of what people bring to the job and  managing  more deliberately  to help people become productive in satisfying ways.

Note: Look, there are tasks that all of us have to do, regardless of the work we've chosen. We not only aren't passionate about them, we don't like them. It's part of life and being an adult. Managers aren't there to "make people happy." Happiness is a personal choice. But managers get paid to produce excellent results. They can't achieve that goal without bringing about excellence in their people. And I don't think I've ever heard anyone express disappointment at the opportunity to excel.

Management Engagement

That's what has to happen to make all of this a reality: management engagement. Employee engagement implies that there are vast numbers of workers malingering on the job--and we have to "get them engaged."

I would suggest that there are vast numbers of managers who don't know their people well enough to orchestrate work in ways that lift people's desire to engage. There are too many mismatches going on out there.

It ends up being, in great part, a relational issue.

Managing is not an easy job to do well. But it's impossible if a manager doesn't take the time to build relationships that allow insight into individuals' strengths and desires when they show up for work.

The employment agreement is a contract: We, the organization, need to accomplish this; and we're hiring you, the employee (regardless of level), because you bring this to the organization

The manager's job is to orchestrate all of this.

I like the idea of Purposeful Passion.

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I hope you'll join me at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on May 12th at Performance Management Practices that Boost Employee Engagement.  HR Leader Kathy Anthony, of O’Sullivan Creel and I will tie together the software and people process elements of effective performance management and engagement. You can sign up here for free. The event is hosted by HR.COM and sponsored by Halogen Software.

Comments

[David Zinger]

Steve:
I love your approach and phrasing and the term purposeful passion. Great perspective on engagement and work. What time is the session on May 12th? I am teaching that day. Will it be recorded?
David

[Mary Jo Asmus]

Hi Steve,

Great post that highlights the need for leaders to slow down, take a breath, listen to their people and figure out what their passions are and how to accomodate them.

Sometimes, a leader doesn't have the luxury of accomodating an employee's passion when that employee has developed beyond their current position. In that case, doesn't it make sense for the leader to assist that employee in finding a place where they can put that passion to work?

I know one such leader - who feels it is a great responsibility to help others use their passion and skills wherever it makes sense. This leader works hard at assuring that the people in his organization are motivated, developed and can use their talents and skills within the organization. But he also helps those who've outgrown the organization to find a place outside the organization where they can put their passion to work.

The wonderful net result is that this leader is spreading a lot of good will for his organization beyond it's boundaries. And most organizations can stand a little more good will.

[Steve Roesler]

David,

It is at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on May 12; I have to double-check on the recording.

[Steve Roesler]

Mary Jo,

That's a gift that is too-often ignored in the literature and in practice: Helping people who have outgrown the organization find a place to flourish.

The good Word of Mouth that results from it lives on for a long time...

[Miki]

Hi Steve, three cheers for you for putting the responsibility where it belongs—squarely on managers. I'm very tired of hearing about poor employee performance with no mention of the bad management underlying it.

The great majority of workers are intelligent, motivated and care that their company succeeds; they are stars when well managed, but dim when their manager fails them.

[Steve Roesler]

Hey, Miki, good to see you. Hope all is cookin' out there.

Like you, I became exhausted from hearing about disengaged employees day after day. As long as managers get pay raises for quarterly numbers vs. long term growth, they have little reason to manage people.

My favorite recent line from a CEO: "People are our most important asset; just after the photocopy machines."

Really.

[Miki]

Thanks, Steve. The difference is that people can walk out the door, but the copy machine is stuck there.

However, it's almost impossible to convince managers who believe as your CEO does to change if there's no accompanying financial incentive.

[Steve Roesler]

Miki,

What I have run into is that managers aren't getting any significant bump for performance changes but the top, inner circle execs are getting big bonuses. So it's a double whammy: I get nothing while you get a whole lot.

So, my reason to change is. . .?