It could be described as "the passion trap." Having spent over two decades in business and corporate environments, I’ve come to realize that the invitation to “find what you're passionate about” is possibly misguided.
In my opinion, the word "passion" is a strong word. In this context, Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines passion as "a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept." Having worked and coached in management consulting and professional services organizations, I've noticed that the majority of people I've encountered do not have a strong liking, desire, or devotion to what they generally do for work. In particular, I've heard consultants sometimes comment, "I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up."
Before I became an executive coach, I would often say nothing in response to this statement, but now when I hear a coaching client utter those words, I will often reply, "I hate to break it to you, but you're all grown up." Their response is usually a somewhat reluctant acknowledgment. Then, we may talk about what they thought they wanted to be when they grew up, what they majored in and why, and what's important to them. Almost no one replies, "I dreamt of being a consultant when I grew up." While we may discuss their interests and explore thoughts about their "purpose," I don't ask them what they are passionate about at work. If you're telling me you still don't know what you want to be when you grow up, then you're not experiencing passion at work.
Don't ask your colleagues what they are passionate about at work. If it's not obvious, then they're not experiencing passion at work.
While there are people passionate about their work, most in my circles are not. They may have passions outside of work (e.g. cycling, golfing, volunteer/community work). When I've observed others pose the question about work passions, often it's in a group setting where people feel compelled to identify something work-related that they are passionate about to look good and committed in front of their colleagues, while one on one with me, they tell a different story. In one on one conversations, we have to dig hard to even find the little things they like about their work. Often, it's something about the people they work with. Sadly, the sentiment of "I like working with smart people," only gets them so far, and the belief they work with the "brightest" and the "best" is a half-truth. Having worked with multiple top organizations, I can safely say, everyone one of them believes they have the "best people."
While one could argue that people are sometimes passionate about aspects of their jobs, in my experience, most corporate types are not truly passionate about their work as a whole. It is more common that people are neutral and don't love what they do day-to-day. To illustrate, some years ago I was one of several people joining an internal project initiative at a consulting organization I used to work for. It's worthy of note that none of us would have been described as a "disgruntled employee." The person leading decided to start the meeting with an icebreaker question. For the life of me, I still don't know why this person picked this question to kick off our meeting. The question was, "If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you do?" I'm sure you can guess what no one said. No one said, "I would continue the work that I do now and continue on this project," or anything in that vein. My colleagues mentioned things like traveling for a year, retiring and moving somewhere remote, becoming a writer, quitting work and doing nothing... You get the idea. Every person effectively communicated "anything but this." This was not a great way to start an initiative you want people to be engaged in. Yet, this sentiment is considered normal as too many hope to actually win the lottery and count the days to retirement.
What seemed crazy to me in that meeting is that no one else seemed to catch the fact that this icebreaker invitation kicked off the meeting confirming that no one was truly passionate about what we were about to do. Truthfully, I wasn't that passionate about it either as I do not remember exactly what it is we were doing, however, my answer was that I would want to continue my job coaching at least in some capacity. I guess I was the lucky one.
This is where someone could say, "That's it! You found your passion... coaching." Well, yes and no. It's not coaching per se, but it's what I can do with and because of coaching that I am devoted to. I am devoted to helping people be better leaders and better human beings for themselves, each other, and the planet. I want to contribute to other's capacity to be more human and aligned with what is a meaningful contribution to them. I want to see a core piece of what makes us human (our ability to care for others) reintegrated back into the workplace.
I am convinced that if more people had the permission, skills, and freedom to contribute to bettering the things they care most about, then many of the world's problems could be solved much faster. Imagine a world where everyone loves their work because they know that the difference they are making through their work impacts what they care most about. Talk about motivation!
Imagine a world where everyone loves their work because they know that the difference they are making through their work impacts what they care most about.
So, here are a few alternatives to the question, "What are you passionate about?" Instead, ask -
"What do you care most about changing?"
"What would you like to see different in the world?"
"If you could snap your fingers and solve one problem, what would it be?"
"If all your financial needs were met, what's something you would do regularly for others for free?"
Now, imagine that you are a business owner. Your organization exists to serve a specific need and/or solve a specific problem. You have the ability to snap your fingers and only have people in your organization that are completely devoted to the cause. You might say they are "passionate" about what your business is about and what it does in the world. Wouldn't you want people like that throughout your organization?! Engagement would be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, this reality does not exist anywhere I have been.
Get clear about how your work is going to contribute to something you really care about.
I believe one reason for this is that people experience having less choice than they actually have. They work for a paycheck doing things they rather not do. They believe clichés like, "If it were fun, they wouldn't call it work." Most of us unconsciously pursue career paths for reasons other than listening to our inner calling toward what we deeply care about impacting. That's how my professional career started as a physicist. While I thought physics was what I wanted to do because it was extremely interesting to me, I was not clear about how my work was going to contribute to something I really cared about. It took some years for me to unravel that my path with physics was more about getting a Ph.D. in something I found interesting rather than about contributing to something most dear to me. Both my parents were mathematicians and both revered Ph.D.'s . I could not see very far outside the box of what was familiar, so I got the degree they both wanted in a field close to what they knew. Once I got the degree, I jumped ship. Many people don't do what I did and remain lawyers, doctors, or something else because someone else wanted it for them. With that said, I wouldn't change a thing.
Fortunately, I took the leap early in my professional career to try something different (consulting) which eventually led me to executive coaching. I could have remained a physicist, but I knew that I needed to do something that more directly and positively impacted and improved how people relate. I could feel the problem I wanted to help solve... that being how people sometimes have difficulty relating and treating each other well. I was driven by a desire to contribute to remedying this problem. I just needed a good vehicle. Coaching became my vehicle.
Let your work become a vehicle for solving the most important problem(s) to you and the world.
One of the problems is that there's a lot of work out there that no one seems to want to do. Why is that?! What would it take to make these work environments and cultures more appealing? I also wonder sometimes if people are misaligned to the wrong professions. I acknowledge that "choice" in work is a luxury and a relatively recent product of the modern society in parts of the world. For those of us fortunate enough to have this choice, I am surprised at how many people struggle and remain stuck in professions they don't particularly care for. More recent generations in the workforce seem to be more apt to change what they are doing when it doesn't match them. I find that the organizations that lead them still succumb to the idea that more carrots will keep them engaged. Nope. More money may keep younger generations from leaving for a while, or even attract them, but it will not keep them engaged. Previous generations accepted that work was a chore, and maybe most in those generations had to.
Today, younger generations insist on purpose and meaningful impact.
Leaders and organizations could do a better job attracting talent by offering more meaningful work tied to an authentic vision and clear purpose wholly aligned to what gets done and who gets served. When it comes to their employees, companies should then see how to better identify people who are a "contribution fit."
Identify people who are a "contribution fit."
In a world where people are free to contribute to what they want to see impacted and remedied, phrases like, "A case of the Monday's," "Hump day," and "TGIF" could become a thing of the past. I recall that Loverboy lyric, "Everybody's working for the weekend." Today, it's sad, but often true. Perhaps tomorrow, people will look forward to work because they are serving and solving problems that are important to them and others. People will not have to relegate contributing to what is meaningful to them to the weekends, to a hobby, or the occasional company-sponsored community service project.
The recommendation to forget about what you're passionate about and look to contribute instead is a strategy that requires courageous self-reflection and experimentation. Perhaps another way to say this is, "Find out what you most want to contribute to, and therein lies your passion."
There are plenty of important problems to solve that need passionate people to solve them. Let's get to it.