{"id":316,"date":"2008-02-06T06:30:29","date_gmt":"2008-02-06T10:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/passion\/"},"modified":"2013-10-10T12:35:22","modified_gmt":"2013-10-10T20:35:22","slug":"passion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/passion\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Instill Passion in Others (and Yourself)"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

<\/a><\/p>\n

Photos by Idea-man<\/a><\/em> and <\/em>TeeRish<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

We read about it in magazines, blogs and news stories. Every day in the media we see it. What am I talking about? Passion.<\/em> Passion<\/a> for a cause, a product, a candidate or a company. You can easily read yet another story of a team that put in a Herculean effort to get their product out the door, their company launched or make that last deadline.<\/p>\n

Even though they\u2019ve spent large amounts of time at work, they look happy, satisfied, and only a little tired. For all the hours they spent at work, they certainly don\u2019t have any of the signs that they\u2019ve settled<\/a>. What is it that drives groups like this and is there anything you can do to create the same passion in yourself and the people around you? At what point does being at work stop being work and turn into something enjoyable and satisfying?<\/p>\n

Instilling passion in a group or team is an art practiced by many successful leaders and is something that can be learned \u2013 believe me, I\u2019ve tried the suggestions below and have had great success.<\/strong> Many of us manage teams of people during our day jobs, and with the right team and working environment this can be an enjoyable experience. You may be leading a software development team, creating a product or working on a political campaign. Either way, you\u2019re expected<\/em> to motivate and lead a team through what may be, a period of very hard work.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mo-ti-va-tion<\/em><\/strong> noun. <\/em>The psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

While the textbook definition may be true, it certainly isn\u2019t very, lets say, motivating. Motivation<\/a> is the act of creating passion and passion is the fuel for great teams. Great teams feed on passion and leaders know how to nurture and instill passion in their people. We\u2019re all trying to develop passion for our dreams, goals and desires and to motivate ourselves to take action. The following list is a few things I\u2019ve learned and used to motivate my teams. I believe these lessons can be applied to our personal lives too.<\/p>\n

Paint a vision of the future<\/h2>\n

Your goal as a leader<\/a> is to develop a compelling vision for the team. Something that\u2019s simple, yet elegant, maybe even a little edgy. Don\u2019t bother with some stuffy board room mantra. If you do, you might as well hang it up before you get started. By simple, I mean something that creates the most impact with minimal effort. On a personal level \u2013 what is your vision of the future? Do you even have a vision? Unfortunately there is no \u2018seeing eye dog\u2019 that can help you develop your personal vision. Take time, dig deep and develop the vision of your future.<\/p>\n

There is always more to the story<\/h2>\n

This is absolutely THE best leadership lesson that I\u2019ve ever learned. In every situation that arises at work (and at home too), things are never as they seem. You may notice someone coming in late and leaving early and start to think \u2013 what a slacker. You may even complain about this person. Then you come to find out they\u2019re taking care of an aging parent and make-up the hours every evening. You never know.<\/p>\n

Break a rule for the team<\/h2>\n

I really like this tip and have used this successfully on various projects. I happen to work for an large \u201cold school\u201d computer company that had a strict dress code. At the time I was leading a team on a project that impacted everyone in our organization and it was important that my team was passionate about their work. I decided to purchase black denim shirts with the project name embroidered on the front (I know it\u2019s no big deal now, but at THAT time, in my company, it WAS a big deal). NO one was allowed to wear denim in our office. But, I bought them anyway and I took a little heat from my manager. But in the end everything worked out. The team loved the shirts, was motivated, and put in the effort to get the job done on time.<\/p>\n

Breaking a dress code rule is always a great thing to do for a team. Telling someone what to wear is the ultimate form of control and everyone is reminded of what their parents wanted them to wear when then were teenagers. Take one for the team, and they\u2019ll take one for you when the time comes.<\/p>\n

Really great teams feel as if they\u2019re on a mission<\/h2>\n

You want your team to feel like they’re on a \u2018mission from God\u2019. <\/strong>The most successful teams have that type of passion and drive. The original Macintosh team had it, teams at Microsoft, Netscape and now Google have that drive. Do you feel you\u2019re on a mission to achieve your personal goals?<\/p>\n

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\"enemy.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Overcome an enemy<\/h2>\n

Every team needs an enemy to overcome. An enemy needs to be overcome in order for the team to be successful. Along with the leader\u2019s vision, the drive to overcome an enemy will motivate<\/a> the team to excellence. If there is no clear enemy, then you need to create one.<\/p>\n

Have fun, no matter what<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s enough pressure as it is at work, that you don\u2019t need to be an ogre in the office to get your team to work. A team that is having fun will support the cause and will work hard.<\/p>\n

Know and listen to your team<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m not saying that every decision needs to be democratic, but you need to listen to team. When people are listened to and know their opinion is valued, they will work all the harder when the time comes. People need to be free to perform their absolute best. Great leaders surround themselves with great people and then get out of the way.<\/p>\n

Sensible and flexible<\/h2>\n

As a leader you have to understand people have lives outside of work, and lets face it \u2013 things happen. Kids get sick, the car breaks down or your toilet erupts like Mt. St. Helens. Showing understanding and flexibility will pay huge dividends when the time comes.<\/p>\n

This also means using failure as a learning experience. Your team needs to feel they can take a chance and not be punished. Like a dog that\u2019s been hit one to many times, they\u2019ll take the safe path and never develop that industry-changing-we-rock product that you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been 24 years since I entered the professional workforce and I\u2019ve experience both great leaders and some really bad ones. A few years ago I was asked to help a project that was \u201cin trouble\u201d and not going very well. I confidently walked into the office and what I saw was a sad sight. Before me was a room of people with a dead pan look on their faces, furiously coding at their terminals. No fun. No passion<\/a>. No lets-save-the-world attitude. I tried to stir them from their stupor, but then I realized the problem. The team leader had sucked the life out of these people with his lack of leadership and constant badgering. After a year, he almost had me broken, too. But fortunately I escaped in the nick of time and he is no longer employed at our company.<\/p>\n

When looking at new opportunities or projects to join, I use the tips above to evaluate the leader and to get a read on the team dynamics. A few simple questions and quick conversations can yield a lot of information about a leader\u2019s style and the psyche of the team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photos by Idea-man and TeeRish. We read about it in magazines, blogs and news stories. Every day in the media we see it. What am I talking about? Passion. Passion for a cause, a product, a candidate or a company. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[9],"tags":[2649,2648,2647,70,2650,2377],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Instill Passion in Others (And Yourself)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We read about it in magazines, blogs and news stories. Every day in the media we see it. What am I talking about? Passion. Passion for a cause, a product, a candidate or a company. 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