An Exercise to Put the Passion Back Into Your Work
A few years ago, I found myself staring down the main hall of the building my team and I occupied. We had just celebrated another successful million-dollar event, and a banner year for development and fundraising. I had set personal and professional goals for myself and for the team, and we had reached or exceeded all of them.
And I was bored.
I found myself dreaming about Friday afternoons and caught myself taking a few long lunches because I dreaded going back to the office.
I had lost the passion for my work. And it showed. My boss, the CEO, had called me in to share she was noticing my disengagement, and asked what was happening. I stammered and flustered about, not knowing what to say, because I didn’t know. I felt embarrassed and inadequate, and quite frankly, somewhat of a failure. Who doesn’t know why they are experiencing such a burnout?
I now know what was wrong.
I had lost sight of my “white-hot why” – why I was there and what difference my work made to the larger picture. Without keeping this transformation out in front, work was just drudgery. Same old, same old. Papers in, papers out. Goals set, goals met. The quality of my work and my relationships started to slip. I lost my leadership edge, and my career track lost footing.
Fortunately, I caught this turn of events in time to do something about it. No, I didn’t turn my work around at the company. I actually left. I examined my purpose and what called me, and realized it didn’t mesh with my work at the corporation at all.
But you don’t always have to leave your job to recapture your passion. You do have to relate what you do to the larger picture so that you understand your contribution to the larger picture – the transformation your company provides. This is what keeps the flames of work passion burning.
Recently, I guest-lectured at a university’s executive MBA program. One of the cohort, Sean, shared that he was there because he had hit a plateau in his enthusiasm for work. He was the vice president for IT services for a large healthcare organization, and he thought acquiring more knowledge and skills in leadership might help to reanimate his passion for the role he played. His story hit a chord with me, and we did an exercise right there that he claims will change his professional life. I believe it can.
In the hope that it might bring value to you and your team as you bring your talents to the larger picture, here is the exercise we did together.
Discovering Your White-Hot Why Instructions:
- Take a blank sheet of paper and turn it horizontally, or “landscape.”
- Take a pen or pencil and draw vertical lines from top to bottom so that you have 3 columns on the paper.
- At the top of the first column, write out your role’s top responsibilities – the work you perform each day. List 4-5 to begin with, just for the sake of the exercise.
- At the top of the second column, write the words “outcomes that help the company/organization operate.” In bullet point format, write out what the bullet points in column one enable the company to do.
- At the top of the third column, write the words “transformation the company/organization provides.” In bullet point format, write out how the company is able to make a difference in the world because of the bullet points in column 2.
With Sean’s permission, here is a sample of his larger exercise. Note how he is able to draw out the transformation he helps the organization to provide, reminding him of the value of his contributions to the larger picture.
| Sean’s top responsibilities | Outcomes that help the organization operate | Transformation the organization provides |
| · Design, develop and implement organizational information systems, software applications, and IT support and infrastructure systems | · Best and highest-functioning infrastructure/communication systems for the healthcare organization are supported, providing critical information supporting effective patient care. | · Providing healthcare leading to healing and wholeness for individuals, families. |
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To do your best work, you must keep your heart engaged.
What is your white-hot why?
If you choose to do this exercise, or to help your team do so, I’d love to hear what insights this brings.
Patti Cotton reenergizes talented leaders and their teams to achieve fulfillment and extraordinary results. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.
Great article, Patti, and great exercise. I’m going to do this! Not just for my paycheck job but for all the things I’m involved in. It will help me clarify what I’m doing and why and what I may need to change. Thanks!