How to Find What You Love And Love What You Do

Do you have a chance to play to your strengths every day?

Were you excited to go to work every day last week?

How you answer these two questions will determine if you are more likely to be successful, resilient, and engaged at work – and likely to do something great in your life by taking seriously what you love and expressing it in some sort of productive way.

This is what bestselling author, Marcus Buckingham, explains in his new book, Love + Work.

“You've long been told to ‘Do what you love,’ shares Buckingham. “Sounds simple, but the real challenge is how to do this in a world not set up to help you. Most of us actually don't know the real truth of what we love—what engages us and makes us thrive—and our workplaces, jobs, schools, even our parents, are focused instead on making us conform. Sadly, no person or system is dedicated to discovering the crucial intersection between what you love to do and how you contribute it to others,” declares Buckingham.

Therefore, the need for Buckingham’s new book. A book that guides readers on how to center love in their lives and fend off common pitfalls tempting them off their path.

In this highly personable, conversational, insightful, eye-opening, empowering and uplifting book, he shows you how to decode your own loves, turn them into their most powerful expression, and do the same for those you lead and those you love.

More specifically, he teaches you how to:

Use love to reveal your unique gifts.
Pinpoint what makes you stand out from anyone else.
Choose the right role on the team.
Describe yourself compellingly in job interviews.
Mold your existing role so that it calls upon the very best of you.
Position yourself as a leader in such a way that your followers quickly come to trust in you.
Make lasting change for your team, your company, your family, or your students.

To help identify your loves, Buckingham recommends you:

Pay attention to what you pay attention to. And, realize that you have some things that you instinctively yearn to do—before you’ve even tried them, and you find your hand going up and your mind leaning in. These instincts are the first sign of love, and, they have wisdom within them.

Furthermore, he suggests you answer these love-seeking questions:

When was the last time…

You lost track of time?
You instinctively volunteered for something?
Someone had to tear you away from what you were doing?
You felt completely in control of what you were doing?
You surprised yourself by how well you did?
You were singled out for praise?
You were the only person to notice something?
You found yourself actively looking forward to work?
You came up with a new way of doing things?
You wanted the activity to never end?

“In all my research, it has been crushingly obvious that the most successful people found roles that a) fulfilled their sense of purpose – they believed in the ‘why’ or the role, b) allied them with colleagues they trusted and admired—they connected to the ‘who’ of the role, and c) contained activities they loved—they enjoyed the role’s ‘what,’” shares Buckingham.

Love + Work provides you a roadmap for infusing love back into your work—and, on a broader scale, in your life.

Marcus Buckingham

I’ve always been a big fan of Buckingham’s work and his latest book further solidifies my commitment to learning from him.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

Six-pillar Roadmap For How To Move From Merely Surviving To Truly Mattering

In the new book, The Mattering Effect: Creating A Life Of Meaning And Worth , podcaster and author John R. Miles reframes today’s most common struggles and empowers individuals and institutions alike to break bad habits and reclaim a sense of worth and belonging. “Organizations have spent the last decade chasing 'engagement' and 'psychological safety,' yet global productivity is stalling and 60% of employees report they do not feel valued in the places where they spend their days,” shares Miles. He calls this “The Great Erasure”—a condition where high-achievers become highly visible to the organization while becoming invisible to themselves. In addition, Miles argues that many of today’s most common struggles—burnout, anxiety, loneliness, and disengagement—are not personal failures or mindset problems. They are the result of unmattering: the gradual erosion of felt significance within modern systems that reward performance while overlooking presence. Fortu...

Seven Ways To Be A Collaborative Leader

Edward M. Marshall 's book, Transforming The Way We Work -- The Power Of The Collaborative Workplace , remains relevant today, more than a decade after Marshall wrote it. Particularly useful is the book's section that teaches readers how to be a collaborative leader. Marshall says that there are seven different, important roles and responsibilities of collaborative leaders when leading teams , and those leaders should select the appropriate style to meet the team's needs. The seven roles are : The leader as sponsor -- You provide strategic direction, boundaries and coaching for the team. You also monitor progress and ensure integrity in the team's operating processes. The leader as facilitator -- You ensure that meetings, team dynamics, and interpersonal relationships function effectively. You also ensure internal coordination of activities among team members. The leader as coach -- You provide support and guidance and you serve as a sounding board. The lea...

How To Be A Conversational Superstar

Each year, I select my pick for the best new leadership book released that year. As published earlier on my blog, my pick for 2023, was When Everyone Leads . Some years, among the many books about leadership that I read, there is another book that is so good, it becomes my runner up for the best new leadership book of the year. That runner-up book for 2023 was, The Communication Code , by Jeremie Kubicek and Steven Cockram . Today, let's take a look back at that book: “Effective communication is the lifeblood of every healthy relationship,” explain Kubicek and Cockram, whether that relationship is at work or at home. And effective communication is essential for successful leadership. Fortunately, the authors' book provides a proven series of easy-to-implement skills, techniques and powerful strategies via what they call the Communication Code that anyone can use to make their communication, relationships deeper and more prod...

Questions You'll Likely Be Asked At Your Next Job Interview

Many Human Resource (HR) managers have moved away from questions like "What's your weakness?" and prefer behavior-based questions , which ask you to: describe how you handled specific situations at your former jobs If you are about to interview for your next leadership position, be prepared for questions like these (from an article in Reader's Digest ): Tell me about a time when your integrity was challenged . What was the situation, and what did you do? Tell me about a time you had to work with someone you did not personally like . If you could come to work with only three tools to get your job done, what would they be ? What personal and professional development have you been engaged in outside the workplace over the past year? Describe your Outlook calendar on a typical day

Good To Great -- Still A Must Read

Near the top of virtually every list you'll see of the best leadership books, you'll find Good To Great , by Jim Collins. The book, five years in the making, and published in 2001, addresses the all-important question of: Can a good company become a great company, and if so, how? Some of the lessons from the book are : "Leadership is equally about creating a climate where the truth is heard and the brutal facts confronted." "Leading from good to great does not mean coming up with the answers and then motivating everyone to follow your messianic vision. It means having the humility to grasp the fact that you do not yet understand enough to have the answers and then to ask the questions that will lead to the best possible insights." "Good-to-great companies use technology as an accelerator of momentum, not a creator of it." "Engage in dialogue and debate." Good-to-great companies are those who have the ability to get and kee...

Change-friendly Leadership

Because Dr. Rodger Dean Duncan delivers so much timely, straight-forward and relevant wisdom in his book, Change-friendly Leadership , reading it is like talking with your trusted best friend. Or, listening to your favorite teacher. Or, soaking in the thoughts from your respected mentor. That's why you'll want to spend plenty of time reading the book. Reflecting on the messages. Absorbing the discussion, And, then likely re-reading it. Or, at least certain sections. Duncan demonstrates in the book how humanness, approachability , and friendliness are necessary but often overlooked elements of making change successful in an organization. He teaches leaders the foundation for effectively engaging people's heads, hearts and hopes -- all necessary to enable effective and lasting (sustainable) change in today's constantly changing world. Duncan refers to this as leadi...

Today's Leadership Quote By Theodore Roosevelt

"Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty...I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well." -- Theodore Roosevelt

Best Leadership And Business Books Of 2013

A few months ago, I shared my list of my favorite leadership and business books published in 2013. If you're since then read one or more of these, I'm eager to hear what you thought of them. Ethical Leadership Unlimited Sales Success Manager 3.0 AMA Business Boot Camp The way of the SEAL Becoming a Better Boss Leadership Conversations And, my favorite 2012 in case you haven't read this book: Lead with a Story

Work Is Meaningful When...

There are so many good things to learn in the book, Helping People Win At Work , by Ken Blanchard and Garry Ridge. Among those is the section about how to define meaningful work . Their definition consists of these seven attributes. Work is meaningful when it : It is conducted in a manner that is "good and proper" in all respects. It positively affects our company and our communities, giving our work an impact that extends beyond ourselves. It provides learning and growth, offers challenges, requires creativity, pushes us to surpass limits, and creates exciting results. It provides recognition and rewards for our achievements. It allows us to succeed as a team while excelling as individuals. It allows us to enjoy the ride, bringing humor and fun into our work. It fuels passion!

Four Ways To Drive Value For Your Customers

Great customer service tips from author Micah Solomon's book, High-tech, High-touch Customer Service : You provide value when you deliver the four components that reliably create customer satisfaction : A perfect product or service Delivered in a caring, friendly manner On time (as defined by the customer) With the backing of an effective problem-resolution process Micah has been named by the Financial Post as “a new guru of customer service excellence.” He is a keynote speaker and consultant on customer service issues, the customer experience, and company culture. He previously co-authored the bestselling, Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit .

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog