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Intentional Leadership — M5 — Passion Wrap-up

These past four weeks, we’ve focused on passion. We’ve gained a clearer understanding of what passion is, what our passions are, and how it rallies around purpose and supplies leaders with energy.

At the end of the day, our appetites matter just as much — if not more than — our aptitudes! What we are passionate about, fired up about, driven by, is much more important than what our skills are…because passion will drive us to move forward with a force beyond our wildest imagination, if we allow it to!

Before you can lead with confidence and force, you must first understand where you want to go, and why. What consumes your thoughts? What grabs your attention, tugs at your heart, and won’t let go?

Once you discover your passion, nurture it. Life will assault your passions, disappointment will assault your passions, and responsibilities — and, yes, self-limiting beliefs and self-imposed constraints — will try to crowd it out and keep you from pursuing your passion. I encourage you to be strong; refuse to bury your passion under life’s many challenges. Passion is the key to finding fulfillment in life.

Consider what Henry David Thoreau said:

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.

I encourage you to not let this be an apt description of you. Take the time to discover your passion. Then nurture it, feed it, allow it the time and space to grow. Harness it to your leadership and the song you sing will outlive you.

Having only recently (within the last few years) allowed my passion to be fully acknowledged and developing my dream and plan to move forward into my potential and my vision, I can say from experience, it’s an amazing, exciting, energizing, reinvigorating, fun adventure. I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

So, what are you passionate about? And what are you doing about it?

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Intentional Leadership — D3, W3, M5 — Passion

Having spent some time yesterday measuring your level of passion and your pursuit of your passion, today let’s shift focus to someone else.

Think of a co-worker, friend, or family member who has expressed a passion, but is not living their passion today.

Food for thought:

1. Go online and purchase a book in the area of their passion. Give them the book with a hand-written note encouraging them to pursue their passion.

2. Think of someone in your network who  has a similar passion. Connect this person with the person in your network to give them a new connection, support in pursuing their passion,  and potential opportunity.

3. As them about their passion. Take an interest in them and really listen. Share with them they are not alone in their journey and that you are committed to their success.

How can you help stoke the fires of their passion?

What can you do to help them move forward into it?

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Intentional Leadership — D2, W3, M5 — Passion

Time to rate yourself! As we move into this third week of our fifth month on your leadership journey and are currently focused on Passion, let’s see how we do on some key foundational elements of nurturing and following our Passion.

Assess yourself on each of these elements:

I constantly immerse myself in studying, reading about, discussing with and interviewing others about my passion. 

WEAK  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  STRONG

I have surrounded myself with others who have the same passion I do. 

WEAK  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  STRONG

I have outlets I can pour my passion into and positively impact others. 

WEAK  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  STRONG

I have opportunities at work that fuel my passion. 

WEAK  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  STRONG

I continue to grow in learning new skills that leverage my passion. 

WEAK  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  STRONG

I have friends who know what my passion is and encourage me to develop it. 

WEAK  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  STRONG

I have opportunities outside of work that fuel my passion. 

WEAK  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  STRONG

I take risks or constructive criticism to improve my ability to live out my passion. 

WEAK  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  STRONG

I regularly guard my time to develop my passion and make sure this time is part of my growth plan. 

WEAK  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  STRONG

After rating yourself, spend a little time to summarize your thoughts on this exercise. Overall, how are you doing in stoking your passion?

Where are you strong and where are you weak?

What immediate actions could you take to help build your passion?

This area of leadership is like all the others in that to do well here, one must have a certain level of self-awareness and operate in an intentional manner. As with the exercises that came before now, it’s important that you are really honest with yourself. If you are spending a high percentage of your time working in an area that isn’t your passion, it will be readily apparent — it will be evident in all you do, the results you achieve, and in how you lead your people.

“See” you on Wednesday!

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