FIVE WAYS TO BUILD PASSION AT WORK

Written by: Mind Tools for Business

1 Create connections

Research reveals that passionate people like to connect with others to help solve problems. Companies can support this spirit of exploration by making it easy for people to find relevant expertise for others. The use of internal social networks can create a culture of collaboration among team members and allow them to share ideas, expertise, similar passions, skills, experiences, and interests.

2 Develop a sense of purpose

Authors John Hagel III and John Seely Brown recommend “coming together as a team to ask and answer powerful questions.” Through one-on-one goal setting, managers can help team members see their part in “the bigger picture.”

3 Encourage growth

Research reveals that passionate people like to connect with others to help solve problems. Companies can support this spirit of exploration by making it easy for people to find relevant expertise for others. The use of internal social networks can create a culture of collaboration among team members and allow them to share ideas, expertise, similar passions, skills, experiences, and interests.

4 Empower your managers

Research reveals that managers are most likely to inspire people to learn—almost twice as much as colleagues who rank second. Lola Gershfeld from Level Five Executive, Inc. once said: “The best way to reignite employees’ passion is to reconnect them emotionally by creating a safe space to explore emotions, identifying what they need, and having bonding conversations so they can reconnect.”

5 Take on a passion project

Encourage people to look for passion projects outside of work. When dissatisfaction approaches, Laura DeCarlo, Career Directors International, says, “The candle needs to be relit, and the easiest way to do this is to learn something new… encourage employees to take a class or start a hobby they’ve always wanted to try, and passion will follow them back to the job.”

Source: Jacqueline Whitmore