You may recall my recent writing about career and life transition through the lens of perspective offered from the experience set of Twin Cities Executive/Management Consultant Teresa Hopke, whose own personal/professional transformation I chronicled in the following posts:

Resignation Day & Life Meets Work

These two posts prompted a number of inquiries related to navigating career change and managing risk, particularly amid such uncertain times.

No doubt, managing change requires courage which is defined as: The quality of mind that enables one to face danger with confidence, resolution and firm control of oneself.

Teresa is someone who is willing to explore and risk failure.  To her it’s worth it.  She wants to get Switched On in the morning.  She wants to make a dent in the universe.

I had the good fortune of catching up with her live at the recent Work/Life Expo.  We continued the conversation and I continue to believe her inspiring perspective can prove beneficial to anyone faced with similar circumstances (and let’s face it, most of us aren’t faced with navigating comparable challenge and change while expecting twins!).

The enclosed video captures part of our conversation around career transition, the impact work has on life and the courage to confront our fear and make meaningful change actually happen.

Are you the VP of Sales that mandates a walk through of the entire pitch deck script?  Do you take over the call and dominate the conversation when you are on appointments with your reps?

Are you the Creative Director that stands over the Designers shoulder while they are making art offering “direction”?  Point. Click.  More.  Less.

That isn’t development.  That is a command and control leadership style that is antiquated and proving to be increasingly less effective.

Let go.

Autonomy is a highly coveted, culture characteristic of high performing employees.  We all have the fundamental desire to direct our own lives and our own work.

Additionally, traditional control mechanisms stifle creativity, innovation and the opportunity for employees to elevate the work product beyond what may have been originally thought possible.  This runs counter to what is going to be required (breakthrough thinking) to compete and succeed in the new world at work – in the “People Economy”.

According to the new Modern Survey Research 70% of employees are now either disengaged or under engaged at their job – a record high number!

This begs the leadership self assessment:  Am I contributing to that number?  Do my employees feel trapped or stuck?

Hire the right people.  Prepare them.  Put them in a position to be successful. Set expectations.

Serve to guide, coach, support and counsel when needed.

Get the hell out of the way.

Programming Note:  Based on our last three years of research and practice we’ll be introducing new Future of Work/Future of Leadership programming for 2012. Details to follow soon on  Collaborative Leadership.

I have shared these ideas before.  They are worth repeating.

You don’t need a title to lead.  Titles don’t earn followers.  You earn followership based on your own ability to contribute value to the process, people and performance.

You don’t need permission to influence.  You impact others and initiate change through action.

We all have the power to make a difference.  Especially among the people that matter the most to us.

We all have the power to create change.  One conversation.  One connection.  One meaningful moment that inspires action.

Leadership isn’t about you.  It is about them.  A leader exists to help, guide, develop, teach, counsel, coach, correct and consistently elevate  the potential and performance.  Your success is achieved through others.  Through change.  Through making a difference.

Not everyone cares about making a difference.

Not everyone is meant to lead.

When others entrust you to guide and develop their talent and career path it is an awesome responsibility.   Stepping up to that responsibility is incumbent upon today’s effective leader.  Especially during a time of such extraordinary challenge and change.

Effective leaders embrace change.  Challenge the status quo.  Commit.  Cultivate confidence in the future. Connect people to each other and to a common purpose.

Effective leaders care.  They go all in to make a difference.  They inspire by living the change they want to see in others.

It is a time where true, authentic leadership is required.  What an extraordinary opportunity to have an impact.  To make a difference.

This video preview for the new book The Leader Who Has No Title offers a bit of inspiring insight from some of the most influential leaders of our time.  A great message about work.  A great message about responsibility.  A great message about making a difference.

A great message about leadership.

I am in Bangor, Maine today about to keynote a leadership event for my client Maine Veteran’s Homes.  Prior to traveling to Bangor a friend of mine casually asked, “Don’t you wish you didn’t have to go there and you could still get the money?”  He offered, “you should figure out a way to give the talk virtually…then you wouldn’t have to travel.”

I didn’t hesitate in responding that I wouldn’t want to give the talk virtually.  I want to go somewhere different.  Meet someone new.  I want to share, listen and learn with extraordinary leaders.   I want to understand their challenges.  I want to hear the stories. I want to connect them to my ideas.  I want to help them navigate change.  I want to have a full, rich, meaningful experience that has a lasting impact.  That is my purpose.

I want to do the work.

It is a question I am also reminded to ask myself.

What do I want to be doing?

Why? {Purpose}

The answer to those questions inform action.

Money is a reason.

Meaning is a reason.  A very good reason.

The intersection of purpose and the paycheck are a precious gift.  It is the place where people are in the best position to maximize their full potential.

It is easier to contribute and succeed when you really want to do the work.  When it matters.

What do you want to be doing? Why?

We’ll have some fun exploring those important questions today.

A few months ago I had the opportunity to coffee shop with an executive who, ironically, had decided to resign from her job the very same morning of our meeting (see my post about her decision: Resignation Day) . It was bold decision and beginning of an entirely new chapter in her professional journey. I didn’t know her then. I do now. I am proud to call Teresa my friend.

When I first wrote about Teresa I referenced a “transformational event in her personal life” serving as a catalyst to move her toward meaningful change. Teresa isn’t just a careerist. She is a whole person. Devoted wife. Mother of two. When her husband suffered a life threatening injury in a near tragic accident she shifted her perspective. Through that experience she handled more than most while managing to prepare to walk away from work that provided her with all of the comfort one might seemingly covet during such a challenging time. She describes her process as finally “finding the courage to listen to her inner voice and align with her purpose.” She wanted to feel alive at the office again. Work on work that matters. She was intent on taking her shot.

I had the opportunity to visit with her again this week to catch up on how she was progressing a few months into the new chapter. As we settled into the coffee shop conversation she indicated that she was about to experience another, unplanned and fairly significant life altering event. I pressed and she replied:

“We are expecting twins.”

Life is an unpredictable story. This is her version. Let the magnitude of that sink in for a moment.

I was prompted to inquire about her career trajectory in the midst of so much significant personal change. Did she regret leaving her big, stable corporate job? Did she go beg for it back? What was she going to do?

I don’t know that she has it all figured out. I don’t know that any of us do. I do know that she embraces change and is emotionally invested and excited for what is next and new. That includes the new chapter in her work life which I believe is appropriately called Life Meets Work.

I couldn’t quite do the story of her career choice, confidence and courage justice. So in her own words:

Life Meets Work by Teresa

“I’m the one that gave up the office with a view. That walked away from the six figure salary. That left ten years of earned respect and professional equity sitting on the table. And for what? All because I felt like I was missing my mojo?

Foolish? Maybe. Courageous? Certainly. Worth it? Absolutely!

A former colleague just reviewed some of my new work and validated what I’ve been feeling since resignation day. She said “You absolutely made the right decision. Your passion for this topic is so clear. You can tell this is work you love”. It got me thinking. How long had it been since I’ve done work I love?

Over the past couple years I started to realize I had lost the passion for my job. But instead of taking action, I settled for the comforts that came along with the role and ease of doing work where I could perform exceptionally well.   The familiarity of the same company & co-workers. The safety of not having to put myself “out there”. What I didn’t immediately see setting in was the unhappiness. The stress. The lack of enthusiasm. The loss of vitality. The impact of those feelings on my whole life.

I finally generated the courage to listen to my inner voice and and get aligned again with my purpose. It is amazing how different I feel. I feel healthier. I have more energy. I wake up each day eager to get started on the work I love. I I have more to give to the important people in my life. The effects on my life have been profound.

I am truly a happy person.

While getting to resignation day wasn’t easy and came with hard work and a ton of risk, I can say it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. My only regret? Not reawakening the idle passion inside of me sooner. Some say that it is irresponsible to leave stability in pursuit of passion. That is fine for them. For me? There is simply nothing better than feeling alive again. Then being happy.”

NOTE: If you would like to meet Teresa we will both be speaking at the 2011 Work/Life & Flexibility Expo on October 11 in Minneapolis. Join us!

We did the HR Happy Hour radio show last week on Passion on Purpose . I’ve had several very interesting, engaging conversations about passion and work over the last few days with smart thinkers, writers and doers in the human capital/leadership space. We didn’t always agree but the debate and dialogue was very interesting and spirited (ok, passionate) discussion.

I really never imagined the word passion would evoke so much….well, passion.

The word certainly generates it’s fair share of criticism. It sounds lofty. Idealistic. To some even a bit frivolous and largely unattainable. Without question for many it quite simply may not be a core driver for showing up at work. I get that. The “average person” just wants to pay their bills (so I have been told). Take care of their family. Work is a means to the end and there is nothing wrong with trading a day of good work for fair pay. You don’t have to love it. You can actually feel quite indifferent about it I suppose. If it serves a larger purpose (or the things you are truly passionate about – family, security, health insurance, a vacation home or whatever that looks like for you).

Further, the notion that we should simply follow our dreams, do what we love and money will somehow show up is a bit naive and from my perspective, rather bad career advice. I have been passionately playing basketball for 30 some odd years and I can verify this surely isn’t the case. I’ve also watched The Secret.  While I believe in the incredible power of the human mind and spirit, I also think manifesting a Maserati is more about hard work than mastering hidden laws of the universe.

However, I can assure you that the organization and leader capable of elevating engagement, enthusiasm and emotional commitment (passion) from their employee and customer universe  has an enormous advantage beyond the bottom line (it will show up there).  As part our consulting work I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to interview literally hundreds of employees at a rather diverse group of employers over the last year.  We’ve talked to employees at small companies in the Midwest you wouldn’t recognize.  We’ve interviewed high potentials at category leading brands and Fortune Best Places to Work employers like Microsoft and Mayo Clinic.  We asked questions about engagement, leadership, career path, work style design, performance, money, mission and meaning.  We listened. We learned.

We learned that people consistently emphasized a meaningful experience over money. Many people we interviewed were willing to take risks, embrace change and accept new challenges to more closely align with meaningful work and a larger sense of purpose.  That didn’t always translate into changing the world.  Sometimes it did.  Sometimes it simply meant a better world at work. The word passion made it’s way into more than a few of those conversations.  Perhaps it is no surprise that high potentials make the correlation between their own performance and engagement, enthusiasm and emotional commitment.  Perhaps it is no surprise that progressive, category leading organizations continue to invest purposefully in their people strategy and help employees stretch and grow to achieve their full potential.

Steve Jobs once famously remarked, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And 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. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” {Tip:  If you haven’t seen this speech it is worth watching.  CLICK HERE}.

I suppose it begs the question, can you be successful without being passionate about your work? About work you don’t love?  I believe you can. I suppose I would have been considered such for a brief stretch in my own career.  I found it just isn’t nearly as much fun or fulfilling.  I also increasingly find that kind of fulfillment can carry over and impact the whole person.

I have been rather fortunate to spend a fair amount of time working with colleagues and clients who aspire to be anything but average.  Those organizations and individuals aspire to elevate the work experience and cultivate a “whole person career”.  I think that is work worth doing.

Who doesn’t love a good happy hour conversation?  That is the plan for tonight as employee engagement and leadership expert Don MacPherson and I join host Steve Boese on his weekly radio show, HR Happy Hour.  The show covers topics in Human Resources, Talent Management, Leadership, HR Technology, HR Conferences and Events, Social Media in the Workplace, Recruiting – essentially anything and everything having to do with people in the workforce. Finding them, hiring them, managing them, leading them, giving them the right tools and technologies to succeed and everything in between.  Don an I are excited for the conversation this evening!

Join us tonight and follow the fun on the Twitter backchannel, the hashtag is #HRHappyHour.

You may recall Don and I are colleagues and collaborators sharing a like minded perspective on leadership, engagement, culture, career and the future of work.  Enclosed is our Engage. Inspire. Empower. leadership webinar delivered earlier this year.  We look forward to continuing the conversation tonight related to passion, purpose and the leadership agenda necessary to navigate these uncertain times.

Should be fun!

He walked into the coffee shop at 7:25 a.m. 5 minutes early.  No surprise.  He was a big time seller.  Now he managed a team of big time sellers.  Showing up 5 minutes early for meetings was inside his DNA.  He was dressed the part.  When he looked at me he couldn’t help but flash the grin.  I was just coming off vacation. Two weeks unshaven and in my summertime office wear:  jeans, a t-shirt and tennis shoes.

He called the meeting.  A friend of a friend I’d come to respect.  Just north of 30 he was knocking it out of the park.  Big career progression and by all accounts, big time success.  He wanted to buy me breakfast and pick my brain about his business.  That was all I knew.

As we moved past the small talk into the purpose of meeting I listened as he talked about the changing nature of his industry, the challenge of growing the business and the reality that this work was all he’d ever known.  He was successful and enjoyed the lifestyle that accompanies that kind of sales performance.  After a few minutes of background I interrupted him with a very specific and straightforward question:

“Why are we here?”

His four word answer:

“I lost my passion.”

Now I needed to know more.

He went on to explain that he simply no longer wanted to do what he was doing.  Sell what he was selling.  Lead who he was leading.  Work for who he was working for.  He actually used that phrase that I hear all too often lately, “I hate going to work.”

In sharing his feelings there was a fair amount of guilt. He recognized that many people are struggling.  That many people would trade places with him in two seconds.  The people inside his circle of trust thought he was crazy to even consider making a change.  He had it all from their perspective.  What was he thinking?!

He was thinking that he doesn’t want work to be miserable.  He wants to find more meaning in his work, recognizing he still needs to make a living. He is wicked smart with enormous talent and limitless potential.  He is more than capable of changing lanes and reinventing himself.  His company could have done so many things differently to capture his emotional commitment but they didn’t.  They missed.  And he is going…going….

The next part for him will be hard.  Change is never easy.  There is that question he asks himself several times a day:

“What am I going to do next?”

It is a question only he can answer.  Quit or stay?  Start a company or make a career transition?  Those are life decisions.  The good news is none of them are final.  In fact, over the course of the next 30 years he may experience all of those things. His career arc is just beginning. The better news is he certainly doesn’t have to spend the next 30 years doing something he hates.

He’ll read this book.  Draft the plan.  Learn more about himself.  Listen to opportunities that align with his values.  And make the next move.  This experience alone will prove quite valuable in his career progression.

I admire his quest to find his passion for work again and see if he can make it intersect with the paycheck.  I am quite confident he will and will post an update on his progress.

Tomorrow I’ll introduce you to 3 people who put passion first and watched the paycheck follow.  It isn’t for everyone. But if you like to Dream Big you might enjoy.

I don’t take a lot of vacation.   A friend recently reminded me that my life is kind of like a vacation.  I am on the move.  Work takes me to some interesting places and I try and do a decent job of picking my spots for extended stays and a little down time.  The past week was different.

I blocked it off on the calendar in January.  I made the commitment to put work on the shelf.  I planned to go somewhere and do something else.  Read.  Write.  Relax.  Recharge.

Mission accomplished.

I used to routinely pass on 3-4 weeks of my allotted vacation time in my corporate days.  I used to joke (half seriously) that unless I was comfortably ahead of plan there would be no vacation.  I had to earn it.  It has been a while since I’d taken a real vacation. I think part of the reason I have resisted vacation is my fear that business would slow or stall while I was away.

That very notion is wrong.   The world understands.  The work is always waiting.  The winning strategy is to make certain to take enough time away to rest and recover so you have the capacity to perform at optimum levels. Time away can serve as the catalyst for a whole new perspective.

My few days away last week offered meaningful insights, ideas and lessons learned from some extraordinary people I met along the way.  I’ll share some of those here as the week progresses.

In the meantime we are pleased to welcome Baptist Health and Camden National Bank to the client roster.  Amazing what a few days away can do for business.  I am already in the early stages of planning my next get away.

Wishing you a great summertime vacation!