Have you ever felt so dialed in on a project that time seems to fly by while you’re working on it? In fact, it probably does not even feel like work because you are so passionate about wanting to see that next step get done so you can continue making progress. That sense of mission-driven purpose is what you want to inspire in your teams to help them feel fulfilled. When they feel they are doing the work just as much for their own interests as the company’s, then it stops being work, and turns into a passion project. Here are five ways that passion will impact your business.
Passion increases focus
Getting into “the zone” where you are working at your maximum potential is often triggered by an emotional state. It is easiest for team members to get in that emotional state when they feel strongly about what they are working on, and understand the impact it is going to have on those it is intended for.
Passion increases team contributions
There is a saying that “terrible and average ideas come from individuals, but great ideas come from teams.” The best ideas come from collaboration, and the best collaboration happens when every voice is heard. Passionate people, whether introverted or extroverted, are more likely to speak up and contribute. Often, their desire to see the best outcome overrides their tendency to want to not make waves.
Passion transforms “workload” into “steps”
When there is a clear purpose and a grander vision, the work required to get to the end result becomes “steps” towards accomplishment, not work to be trudged through. It’s the difference between being at Mcdonalds and seeing an employee who is there because they need the check, and a team member who is there because they want to own a franchise one day. The mindset determines the outlook, and the outlook decides what is “work” which is put on us, and what is a “step” that we undertake in order to accomplish our goal.
Passion affects skillsets
You want to be the best at what you are most passionate about. That’s why teenagers spend hours and hours skateboarding or playing video games to master a map. You work harder to develop new skills when you feel strongly about what you’re doing. Being terrible at it is unacceptable. For an illustration of this, think of someone who is so passionate about a sport that they want to go pro. They will spend so much time practicing, watching videos, working out, waking up early and going to bed late while figuring out how to be better that anyone who meets them can tell they are inspired. Contrast that to someone who hates their job and has to pry themselves out of bed to go to work. Then as soon as work is over, they move on to anything and everything else. This person is highly unlikely to be doing any self-study to improve their skills at work.
Passion fuels creativity
At the heart of creativity is feeling inspired. Finding inspiration in non-traditional approaches to an issue or problem is what fuels creative outcomes. If your people are inspired, they will be thinking about how they can approach challenges differently versus accepting that there is a fixed outcome. Passion keeps them thinking about how to attack obstacles until they find solutions that might just help them overcome what is standing in the way.
Instead of focusing on productivity, think about how you can inspire your team members and align their passions with the work you want them to do. Find out what they care about, and show them how by doing their work with the company they can impact that, or have time to pursue it. Either way, it is essential to make it in their self-interest to do the best job possible, and create a correlation between their work and what they love.