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Intentional Leadership — D4, W1, M5 — Passion

Take a few moments, today, to describe what your life could be like if you lived out your passions each day.

What would that do in your life and the lives of others?

What effect could passion have on your leadership?

I’ve been working on painting this picture for myself, through The Deeper Path Coaching Cohort I was participating in. I have authored my OPUS (what my life’s masterpiece will be…) and am working on the refining touches. I will share it with you soon.

All I can say is, having this level of clarity about my passion and focus is both unsettling and exciting. Unsettling because I never thought this intently about what I wanted my life to be life, and it’s an intense process to go through. Exciting because having such clarity makes it ever so much easier to say yes or no to opportunities that arise, without a lot of contemplation.

And, I can say with certainty, that when I am working in my passion, people notice. I was blessed to have the opportunity to give a keynote presentation at a women’s leadership luncheon last week. One of the participants shared this feedback with me: “You were awesome. Your passion is palpable.” I’m thankful it’s so obvious!

Is yours?

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Intentional Leadership — D2, W1, M5 — Passion

What are you passionate about? Can you name your top three passions? Out of those three, which one are you most fervent about?

Was there a key event – a defining moment – or circumstance that ignited your passion?

Do you remember the Jarvik-7 Artificial Heart? It was invented by Robert Jarvik. Jarvik was the son of a physician, who worked with his dad as he grew up and had some interest in medicine, but seemed more interested in art. One of his defining moments, driving his passion for the design and development of artificial organs was the passing of his father, who had died of heart disease after having open-heart surgery.

Your defining may or may not be quite this dramatic, but often, there is one.   

When you live through your passion, what effect does it have on you in terms of confidence and energy?

Again, when we are truly passionate about something, we typically move into the “discretionary performance zone,” operating above and beyond the minimum, to be sure, and often significantly higher than 100% effort!

Are you currently in a place where you get to live your passion each day?

If yes, describe how it is…

If no, describe why not.

 

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Intentional Leadership — Month Five — Passion

This month, our fifth on this intentional leadership journey, is focused on Passion.

Passion: The driving force that propels us to take on challenges and pursue dreams.

Passion is the inner fuel that drives each of us to excel; it’s our chief source of energy and supplies us with motivation.

Think about it: How much effort do you put into things you feel only “so-so” about. How much effort do you put into things you are passionate about? In performance management arenas, we see this as the difference between an employee doing just what he/she needs to do to get by (meet expectations) and an employee functioning in the “discretionary performance” zone — giving more than 100% effort towards his/her job.

Unfortunately, passion can run out.

In some ways, that’s what happened to Juliana Margulies, former star of the hit series ER and current star of The Good Wife. She left ER, even though the producers offered her $27 million to stay! She had other dreams, other goals, other passions she wanted to follow…and she did. And now, she’s back with another hit show. She wanted to do things that she wouldn’t have gotten to do had she stayed on with ER, and was wise enough to know that if she didn’t take the chance when she had it, she might not have it, again.

Before we start into our weekly process exploring our passion, let’s take some time today to ponder some questions which will help you get settled into thinking about this month’s theme.

In your life, what gives you the greatest fulfillment?

When has your passion been dimmest? Why?

What people and/or activities stoke your passion?

Of the people you know, who strikes you as the most passionate? Why?

As John Maxwell would say: “What makes you sing?”

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