A passionate proposal

Is passion at work a thing? 

I admit that the passion I have for my alma mater is over the top. Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about my team and sports in general.

Take the passion that fans showed at this weekend’s college football championships and college hoops games. I LOVED it. I love to “hate root” and I love to yell in appreciation for great plays. That’s engagement for me: participating in, being involved with, watching, and coming together for a common cause.

But I’m reminded that passion does not always equal engagement. Passion is a feeling and engagement is an action.

Passion at work is another thing entirely.

Showing up at work with passion and engagement is rare. According to a 2023 study by Zippia.com, only 20% of the workforce is passionate about their work. Two questions I would like to explore: what it means to have passion at work and does this passion equate to engagement?

“The Passion Pyramid” (by the Integro Leadership Network) cites five ways to meet workers’ needs required to feel passionate about their work:

• To be respected

• To learn and grow

• To be an insider

• To do meaningful work

• To be on a winning team

Does this resonate with you as you think about how your work affects your life and the broader good? And as leaders, are you helping to drive employee outcomes with skills that allow for passion to be present?

An actionable takeaway here is to utilize one of your weekly 1:1 meetings to examine the areas in the pyramid and set up steps for coaching and work habits to fuel positivity and passion.

It seems simple. Today, as so many of my colleagues and friends are seeking work and meaning in their work, I hope that workplaces are providing ways to meet their passions.

As mentioned, passion does not always equate to engagement. That will be the subject of my next post.

Any thoughts on passion at work? What have you found to be effective to ignite the fire?