The “eye sparkle” factor

Bestselling author, Tom Peters, suggests that employers should only hire people who have an "engaging infectious sparkle." In other words, employers may do better to hire people with a positive, engaging attitude even if they have less experience, rather than hiring highly experienced individuals without a demonstrated passion for the job.

In a previous newsletter, I talked about the WII-FM factor and suggested that for the sake of their customers, employers would be wise to figure out what makes their staff "tick." But employers are also wise to look at hiring those with positive attitudes right from the start. Attitudes not only affect how workers approach their jobs, but can also have a ripple effect on those around them.

For one thing, positive attitudes can have tremendously positive impacts on an organization's ability to change. Employees who demonstrate positive attitudes are more apt to embrace change, since they may see change as a way to enhance their skills. Employees with negative attitudes will stand in the way of change, making it difficult for the organization to implement change in an efficient manner.

In addition to speeding up the change process, positive attitudes can also help organizations be more innovative and creative. If your employees are providing suggestions for improving the business, this is a good indication that your employees are engaged and want to see the organization grow. Employees who are only concerned with working within their job descriptions and keeping an eye on the clock are not as productive as those with positive attitudes.

Teamwork is another area that may be at the mercy of attitudes. Individuals that embrace diversity and work with a spirit of cooperation are the ones who are most likely to help the team succeed. If negative attitudes prevail, then successful project outcomes are less likely to occur quickly and may possibly stall the project altogether.

One area that organizations often overlook is the high cost of turnover. As any employer knows, it is an expensive process to replace employees, not only in terms of dollars spent, but also in the time needed to train new employees. Employees who feel good about their jobs are more likely to stay and be a productive member of the organization; whereas those with negative attitudes will get out as soon as they get an opportunity to do so.

You can see why it's a good idea to hire employees with the "eye sparkle factor" right from the start. Those that put their heart and soul into their work are those that will succeed not only for themselves, but will also enable the organization's success.

Mastery precedes passion

You've no doubt heard that if you do what you love, the money will follow. However, strictly following your passion may end up costing you lost wages through job hopping and increase your anxiety. Both of these items, compounded over time, will quash your dreams in a hurry. Instead, improve your skills to become really good at what you do; whether it's baking, driving, teaching, consulting, researching, or whatever.

Being skilled in one or more areas, allows you to leverage those skills to build a career. Cal Newport, a Georgetown University professor says, "Stop trying to figure out what you are passionate about. Instead, the secret to building a career or business you love is to develop rare and valuable skills that you can then leverage to take control of your livelihood."

When you're good - really good - at something, you can claim mastery over that something. And once you have mastery, passion is not far behind. This is because as you get better and better at what you do, your sense of passion grows. How can it not? When you master something, you own it, because you've got the rare and valuable skills needed to do so. It is not the other way around. You cannot be passionate about doing work that you know very little about.

What about loving your work? Some people claim that they hate what they do. Perhaps it's a lack of skill, but more often than not, it's a lack of autonomy, competency, creativity, and a sense of impact on the job. If you don't have that, you will never love your work and you will never develop mastery over your work. The resulting lack of productivity from not doing the best in your job impacts not only your individual success, but is felt within your organization overall.

Getting really good at your current job will set you up to do even greater things in the future. Mastery is the key to passion. In other words, don't follow your passion. Instead, hone your skills to become as competent as possible so that passion follows you.

The “eye sparkle” factor, mastery precedes passion