Find passion in what you do

Find Passion in what you do

One of the defining characteristics of effective leaders is passion. An unswerving and enthusiastic belief in what they are doing, or the business they are building or the product they are selling.

Scholarly opinion often presents passion as an all-encompassing handful of leadership characteristics. Don't buy this. Great leaders need many things in their toolkit. When it comes to passion, I mean: Infectious energy, belief, optimism & enthusiasm. The stuff that people enjoy being around. You've either got it or you haven't. No training will teach you to be passionate about what you do.

For clarity, I am not talking about a freakish, frightening, arm-waving, over-excitable, uncontrollable bundle of emotions. That doesn't belong in business. Passion is a real connection at an emotional level.

No one follows a leader who is not passionate about what they are trying to achieve - at least not for very long. No one. Leading with passion ignites a fire in your team. It energises others. Selling with passion excites and convinces others to come along with you. Resolute enthusiasm - appropriately deployed - is hard to resist.

The opposite of passion is disengagement, disinterest, not having your heart in it. It's nothing to do with intellect, skill, training or knowledge. Having all of these without passion is a souless but detached existence, but these things do not alone make a leader for whom people will do great things. If someone is not passionate about something then why should we be?

A warning, before we get carried away. Whilst passion can energise a business it's important to make the distinction between driving a business forward and rightly taking dispassionate and detached decisions rationally.

Passion alone is rarely enough. It does not bring with it judgement, insight, emotional intelligence, rationality or empathy to name but a small number of the characteristics of great leadership. It can however be the spark that makes people want to work for a leader, that brings an organisation together, that brings to life the mission. In short it's essential.

Not enjoying what you do? Look around you. If you don't find infectious energy, belief, optimism and enthusiasm then place you are in may not the right place for you. If you do see it then maybe you are not the right person for them.

Find passion in what you do.