Passion Plan at Work..Increase Passion for your Work

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This is a great article by Jody Urquhart of idoinspire.com who totally believes in the power of play in your worklife. Take a few moments to read her thoughts on the subject and see if they can benefit you and your call center team.

Passion is the single most powerful competitive advantage an organization can claim in building its success

Many organizations possess the same technology, resources, equipment, and expertise, but it is the organization that runs on passion that thrives. The passion-driven organization inspires its employees, invigorates its customers, and reaps the benefits of their shared enthusiasm in its success

Passion Matters

Both employees and customers have feelings that compel them to act the way they do. Employee’s performance can be directly linked to their feelings toward their work. Customers do not buy just anything. They make their decisions based on emotional responses to products and the organizations that provide them. We all operate on emotion, we make decisions on emotion.

Passion is something deeper than policies and practices that give an organization meaning and life. A passion for what you do makes every day invigorating and rewarding.

A recent study highlighted in the Wall Street Journal revealed that customers gravitate toward companies that appeal to them on an emotional level (Alsop, 1999).

To attract customers and employees, compete solely on price the relationship has no loyalty the relationship ends when a better financial reward is found. To have people committed during the ups and downs of business you need to build loyalty with passion. Passion builds advocates for your business.

Passion is uncommon. Not many people jump out of bed fueled by their passion to go to work. More often in organizations people are disengaged, cynical and cranky.

Many management methods alleviate the symptoms that afflict the modern company; few treat the disease that causes them, lack of passion.

Benefits of Passion
Provides direction and focus
Creates energy
Inspires creativity
Heightens performance
Builds loyalty
Attracts employees and customers
Unites the organization
Provides a critical edge
Brings the organization to a higher plane
Inspires action
The benefits of passion are obvious, so why don’t more organizations harness it? At some level there is passion present in most organizations, but it does not form the framework. Leadership may feel it, but not understand how to communicate it. Employees may sense it, but be uncertain or confused as to how to act on it. Customers may detect it in products and services, but may not feel it is consistent or compelling.

Somewhere along our journey we lose sight of what inspires us. We compromise our passion to get the job done. Unbridled growth, increasing technology, multitasking, fierce competition, labor shortages all have forced business to do more with less and what suffers is passion.

Define passion and have a way to sustain it. What is the core thing that people can be proud and passionate about? Link this to your overall business operations. Communicate it often.

(IDEA- Have regular team “huddles” where employees communicate what they are most proud of)

Brainstorm- What specific acts communicate passion? (i.e. - going out of your way for a customer, recognizing other team members, celebrating success, smiling, skipping down the hallway….( as one CEO does)

 Keep overall enthusiasm and energy high. Strive to increase overall energy in your work environment. You need this energy to fuel passion. Smile, laugh, and engage in fun activities to keep energy levels high.

Fake it until you make it. The trick is to act passionately even if you aren’t, eventually it becomes a habit and in the meantime your energy will lift everyone up.

Everyday our body language comes through loud and clear. Is yours inspiring confidence and energy in others or is it tired or just uptight?

Be innovative. Try new and different approaches to your work to fuel passion

Sharpen your skills.

What are you insanely great at in your Work? Recognize people for their contribution to your organizations purpose.

Copy write Jody Urquhart  www.idoinspire.com