The passion is for you.
I have a friend who has burned some bridges and overwhelmed some teams. He has a tendency to get really passionate about something in the business—a new idea that can change everything; a way of doing something that’s superior to the past; a new book or lesson or methodology that should now be followed by all. He gets fired up and beats the drum. Hard. Constantly.
And he loses people.
There’s a natural human reaction that a team will have to a leader like this. They resist the new idea because new ideas are not new. They’ve seen their lead excited about things before. And, they don’t appreciate the intensity and assumption that everyone else should be equally enthusiastic right away, or every time.
The team resists. Then, if he keeps pushing, they push back or quietly quit. It’s happened enough times that I helped him give it a name.
The diminishing return of passion.
“But isn’t passion a great thing?!” Yes. However, there is an important lesson about passion some of us have been missing.
The passion is for us. The passion you feel is for you. It’s for you to know that your heart is engaged and you’re onto something. It’s for you to watch and wait and see if this is a passion that endures. It’s for you to enjoy the juice and the sense of urgency to determine if you have something here worth investing in. It’s for you to motivate yourself to action so you can see if there is a consistent and enduring path emerging.
Your passion is not about you forcing others to get on board and match your enthusiasm.
Sure, you can leverage your passion for motivation, but don’t be confused. Actions speak louder than words. People are watching you, not just listening to you. And you might be on fire for your cause or belief—for now—but people are thinking to themselves, “we’ll see…”
We’ll see if it lasts.
We’ll see if he sticks to it.
We’ll see if she appreciates my current efforts in the mists of their new passion.
Passion without appreciation is a zealot’s delusion. If your passion makes your team feel like what they’ve been doing is now worthless and unappreciated, you will lose them. If the new thing is communicated in such a way that their old thing is immediately forgotten or devalued, it will be an uphill battle to bring them along.
Move forward with your passion but don’t rush. Advance but don’t force. This isn’t the first thing your people have seen you be passionate about. Build their confidence by doing the following…
- Demonstrate your own consistency. See if you can keep yourself motivated for a few weeks before pushing energetic passion for the new thing onto others.
- Show your appreciation for them. For their work. For their commitment. For their support of you and all your ideas and, despite the changing environment.
- Be patient and passionate. Decide that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right, once your people are onboard. And that’s not today. And that’s okay.
- Invite them into the process. Allow the team to help you build a transition plan to adapt the new idea. Let them come to the conclusion that boats may need to be burned. Help them see a vision for themselves contributing to the new reality.
- Keep as many other things stable as possible. Change is hard and is usually met with resistance. What can you do to steady the boat while changing out the sails?
You can say things like,
“Here’s what’s never going to change…”
“Here’s how we will always operate, no matter what changes around us…”
“Here’s what I’m going to do to keep us sane while this change takes place…”
But first and foremost, remember this:
The passion is for you, first. Enjoy it. Let it fuel you. Allow it to give you fresh eyes and ears for opportunities to serve and encourage the people around you.
If your passion endures, and you honor their journey, you will win them over in time.
If your passion isn’t leading to that result, you’re missing the point of the passion. You’re forcing something on a team that’s waiting for you to lead them somewhere new.
