4 Leadership Strategies to Help Your Team Members Fuel Their Passion for Work
In the last 18 months and counting, millions of employees have had their relationships with work rocked. For some, the pandemic gave them the opportunity to sit still and engage in deep introspection. They were able to evaluate their relationships with their jobs and companies – and contrast their relationship with work to their major priorities and passions. For others, sitting still was impossible as the pandemic forced major changes in their typical work landscapes. These shifts, for many, displaced the meaning that work once gave them. For some, it led to the discovery that their jobs themselves were not the main appeal, but rather their passion stemmed from the connections and social interactions they had at work. Others found themselves in situations where their existing dissatisfaction for their jobs was heightened. Still others, just suffered from burnout and extreme fatigue without a clear cause or reason. These are just a sample of the multitude of factors that have led us into what we all now know as The Great Resignation.
It is extremely demotivating and frustrating holding a job position you feel very little connection to. Understanding this, the good news is that if employees are not actively pursuing other options, it may be that their passion for their current job has not all together vanished. After all, they may only be experiencing a phase of dullness. So, what could you possibly do as a leader to provide an environment that fans the flame and taps back into your team members’ passion for their job?
- Provide Opportunities to Learn
No matter the years of experience an individual has in a field, there are always new things to learn. Typically, when you learn something new and relevant, your excitement and engagement increases. Check in with your team members and see if they would be a good fit for stretch assignments or development program at your company. You could even suggest some new courses they may be interested in.
- Help Them Understand Their Impact
As there may have been several changes within your organization in such a short period, your team members may be having a hard time understanding their impact in the current state of your organization. Check in with them to help them understand how their role positively impacts their team, organization, and community. It helps when people can connect with the purpose of what they do and to see the difference they make.
- Job Crafting
Speak to your team members about job crafting. Job crafting is when employees redesign their jobs in way that foster job satisfaction and engagement – so that they can pursue tasks and challenges that really speak to them. You can read more here about what job crafting involves and how to do it right.
- Create Connections for Workers
Have systems in place that make it easier for employees to connect with others in the company. In research conducted by Hagel & Brown (2020), companies that successfully supported passionate exploration made it easy for those employees to find others with relevant expertise, both within and outside the organization. This helped people solve problems more effectively and support future collaboration.
By Shirley Godwin, M.S.
