Coaching to Discover Passion and Core Values

What is passion and how does one build it in others? Yesterday, I started a series regarding the energy a senior leader can bring to a team. But the focus of this series is on creating the traits that inspire ourselves and others. One of these traits is Passion. When it comes to building passion (rather than waiting for it to magically appear), it takes intentional exploration, reflection, and reinforcement. Here are six actionable activities I recommend to help individuals develop authentic passion: 1. Meaning. Finding the purpose behind the mission can be one of the most challenging aspects of breeding passion. Entrepreneurs are deeply rooted in purpose, while others focus on tasks Encourage your people to explore what problems they genuinely care about solving. Have them answer two questions: - What frustrates you most in the world and your job? - If money weren’t a concern, what would you spend your time fixing? This drives passionate thoughts around purpose over tasks every day. 2. Experiences. Exposure to new experiences breeds passion. Encourage cross-functional projects, stretching into new roles, and attending industry events outside of comfort zones. New exposure often lights a fire. 3. Surround. Exposure to others also breeds passion. Break through siloes (don't tear them down) and encourage engagement across the company. Being stuck in one job and working with the same team day-in and day-out, drives a narrow focus on task management. 4. Curiosity. One of the most powerful traits of a leader is their questioning of why. When your employees only concern themselves with what, they just want to be led. Promote environments that value learning and experimentation. Passion is often sparked when curiosity is allowed to flourish without fear of failure. 5. Storytelling. Yesterday, I was telling Joe Boyd that the power of stories can explain strategy, drive alignment, influence stakeholders, and lead with clarity. Teach your employees to tell these stories: why they selected this path, why their work matters, and why they stayed at it during tough times. Storytelling activates emotional connection and can reignite passion from within. 6. The Journey. A regular practice of reflecting on daily work and identifying what felt meaningful helps individuals tune in to sources of motivation and passion they might otherwise overlook. Allow time each week to reflect on the past week, month, quarter, and year. . Building passion is not about fireworks ... it's a slow-burning flame fed by intention, immersion, action, and reflection. With the right coachsulting structure behind them, even the most disengaged professionals can reconnect with what makes their work matter. How would you rate your passion and the passion of those around you? ….. Follow me if you enjoy discussing business and success daily. Click on the double notification bell 🔔 to be informed when I post. #betheeagle

We've all been there - myself included - when our job leaves us sick, scared, and looking for an exit. At the time, the weight of my confusion felt draining, my stress levels felt paralyzing, and nothing seemed to ignite even the faintest degree of passion in me. But even in these moments where we feel stuck, how often do we pause and deeply assess WHY? What I wish that someone had told me at that time was that the key to re-evaluating my career path was in understanding my own inner motivations and aligning them with my own actions. If this resonates, I want to share a strategy to help you understand your discontent and aspiration through my recent blog post titled "Using the 5 Whys to Re-Evaluate Your Career Path." The 5 Whys is a powerful tool borrowed from problem-solving methodologies, perfect for mission-driven professionals who are looking to find their next steps. This exercise will push you to go beyond the superficial and reach the root cause of your feelings. Here's a brief glimpse from one of my recent coaching conversations as an example: 1. WHY are you unhappy with your job? “I don’t feel engaged.” 2. WHY don’t you feel engaged? “Tasks are repetitive and don't challenge me.” 3. WHY do you want to be challenged? “It makes me feel like I’m growing and contributing.” 4. WHY is growth and contribution important to you? “They give me a sense of purpose and achievement.” 5. WHY do you need a purpose in your job? “I want my work to align with my personal values and passions.” From a vague sense of unhappiness to an eye-opening realization about alignment and values, this reflective process can be transformative. Once you've uncovered your core values through the 5 Whys, then it’s time to realign. Maybe it's autonomy or creativity that drives you. Or maybe your motivations lie in social impact. How can your career best cater to these values? Remember: your professional journey is not just about 'doing' but understanding 'why you do it'. In thinking about your own next steps, consider Steve Jobs’ advice: "The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle." 📌 Check out the full blog post for more insights: https://lnkd.in/eHJDUqDc Not sure how to use this exercise to reflect and realign? 📞I’d love to connect with you further on a complimentary call: https://lnkd.in/dZJ2Agzq Interested in other free career insights and job search advice?  📩 Subscribe here to my weekly newsletter: www.ki-coaching.com #CareerCoaching #5Whys #CareerChange #FindYourPurpose #SelfDiscovery #CareerCoach #FindYourWhy #FindYourWhy

In today's fast-paced business world, the key to unlocking your team's potential lies not just in their skills or in your leadership, but in the deep-seated connection between their personal aspirations and the overarching goals of your organization. Imagine the unstoppable force your team can become when their personal dreams and your company's mission resonate in harmony. This alignment is not just a strategy; it's a transformative journey that turns ordinary employees into passionate advocates of your vision. The Most Effective Way to Inspire Your Team: Finding the Common Theme Discover Individual Passions: Initiate one-on-one conversations with your team members to understand their personal goals and passions. Learning about their aspirations helps in aligning their roles with what ignites their enthusiasm. Shared Vision Creation: Involve your team in the process of creating or revising the company's vision and mission. This inclusion fosters a sense of ownership and aligns personal goals with organizational objectives. Goal Synchronization: Develop a system where individual goals and company goals are reviewed together. This practice ensures that each team member sees how their contributions impact the larger picture. Personal Growth Opportunities: Offer tailored training and development programs that help employees grow in areas they are passionate about, which also benefit the company. Recognition of Individual Contributions: Regularly acknowledge and celebrate how each team member’s work contributes to the company's success. This recognition reinforces the connection between personal effort and organizational achievements. Empowerment through Autonomy: Grant autonomy in how team members achieve their goals. This trust not only boosts morale but also encourages creativity and innovation, aligning with the company’s forward-thinking vision. Transparent Communication: Maintain open lines of communication about company health, challenges, and successes. Transparency builds trust and helps employees understand how their roles play into the bigger picture. Work-Life Harmony: Respect and support the balance between work and personal life. Employees who feel their personal time is valued are more likely to bring their best selves to work. Leadership by Example: Lead with passion and purpose. Your enthusiasm and commitment to both the company’s and employees' goals set the tone for the entire organization. By aligning your team's personal ambitions with the mission of your company, you create a powerful synergy. This alignment not only drives your business forward but also cultivates a workplace where every individual feels genuinely invested and fulfilled. Remember, when your team's passions and your company's purpose intersect, the potential for extraordinary success knows no bounds.

“Lara, I am thinking about asking to change from my actual leadership role to a specialist role, which I do very well also. I feel that I am becoming a person I don't want to be….” Many of us, when we start to grow in the corporative world, start also to fit models to be able to adjust to certain expectations we believe will bring us faster to the positions we are aiming. This mentee, she is a woman in a very volatile environment and she is the only woman in a male set up. For many of us who are "different” or diverse from the group we are working with, this might be even more true. If we are younger, from a different country, from a different religion, etc… We will only feel like this when who we are and what we want is forgotten, or not clearly worked out. This happens a lot when we are changing leadership levels: 1. Individual contributor to leader of individuals and 2. Leader of individuals to leader of leaders. To be a leader of individuals you need to understand individual motivations and bring the best out of them. Technical support can be part of the work, not the essence. In this case you might excel by helping each individual to excel. To be a leader of leaders is another ball game. You have to respect the leadership style of each leader. Your focus is to make them understand that their task is to take the best out their teams and that is nothing easier than to lead teams that are in their element. Teams that are comfortable with each other and are proud of their work are easier to lead. For this WE need to be in our element knowing who we are and what we want…. The best moment for us to make a journey on who we are is while we are thinking about our professional growth. Our professional growth should be a reinforcement of our personal growth, otherwise we will have a#passivegrowth - a growth that is based on external expectations that will end up crashing with our #corevalues and our #purpose. To be have a healthy professional growth, it is essencial that you put the right attention in your personal growth. 1. What are my core values? 2. What is my life’s purpose? 3. How my work today reflect those values and purpose? 4. How my promotion and this team I am leading will be a tool for me to live my values and purpose? Being clear about who you are and what is important to you will make also easier for your company to assign the best role to you, so you can live in your element. This is the best way to grow professionally, personally and feel well about it! No doubt about who we are becoming will emerge. Are you in sync with your true self in your professional journey? Let's discuss. #LaraBezerra #WorkCoherence #LaraMentorship #LeadershipDevelopment #ProfessionalAlignment #CoreValues #PurposeDrivenCareer #CorporateChallenges