Jeff Faulkner

Symphonic Performance - Passion

In my last two posts, A Common Vision and Roles and Responsibilities, I discussed lessons I observed while watching the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra perform recently. Having a common vision and subordinating individual talents to those of the team for the purpose of exceptional performance, and having crystal clear roles and responsibilities were two key traits of high performance I saw. The orchestra was also a great illustration of the principle of operating out of your passion.

There were several performers who had relatively large roles and then there were performers who had relatively small roles. But in the execution of their pieces, you could not tell a difference in how well prepared they were or how excited they were about what they were doing. They were all working very hard. One cellist was working so hard, I thought he might bounce himself right out of his seat. A bass player was working so hard, I thought he might sustain an injury to his neck. The conductor was working so hard, I really thought he might just come out of his skin or fall off the podium.

I asked myself, “What is it that drives all these individual performers to work so hard at playing such small roles in their overall team performance?” The answer that came to me, in a word, was passion. They were all extremely passionate about and dedicated to what they were doing. They weren’t playing an instrument for a living; they were living out a calling. Most people I know are not living out of passion. They are in jobs, or marriages, or friendships that they have simply settled into. And their lives are void of any significant joy.

Passion for work can be found by bringing more of YOU into what you do. Obviously, this requires you to know who you are. What are your strengths? What motivates you? What de-motivates you? Passion usually is a natural byproduct of being who you are and doing what is consistent with the way you are uniquely gifted. The energy differential is huge between doing a job that is really an extension of who you are and a job where you have to fake it day in and day out.

If you are not currently passionate about what you are doing, ask yourself “why not?” Are you living out your calling? Do you understand your unique talents and strengths? Are you able to bring those strengths and natural abilities into what you do? Discover your passion and how to bring more of you into what you do, and your performance will rise.

Ask these same questions of your family and your management team. Succession planning is all about building the value of your organization to sustain through the next generation of leadership. The more passion that is exhibited by the individual performers within your business, the greater value there will be and the greater chance you will have of the ongoing continuity of success.

Posted by Jeff Faulkner on March 27, 2009 | Comments (2)