Three Reasons I Love My Work

There are so many reasons that we work: to grow and develop, to learn, to add value, and of course to make money! Throughout your career, you will spend tens of thousands of hours working…so it’s important to love what you do! Here are a few of my top reasons:

People are complex. We are fascinating, multi-dimensional creatures. When I work with leaders, we dig and dig and dig until we get to the real root of an issue. In a recent conversation, a leader was talking about his decision-making patterns. As we got further into the conversation, what he discovered was not that he was in inefficient decision-maker, but that he had an aversion to conflict – especially with peers. This was a game-changing insight on his part, and helped him reframe conflict and conversation.

People are curious. Curiosity drives innovation. The greatest inventors, thinkers and innovators are all driven by an innate curiosity. What makes things work the way they do? Why does a pattern exist? Or not? Curiosity leads to solutions. Creative genius Walt Disney had it right: “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, doing new things, because we’re curious, and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

People are communicators. Volumes have been written about effective and purposeful communication. Want to become a more effective communicator? Check out the book Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When the Stakes are High. An oldie but a goodie, this book is on the “go to” shelf in my office. With applicability in both work and personal situations, the strategies outlined will help you speak with purpose, power, and presence.

Finally, take a few minutes to remind yourself why you do what you do. What do you love about your work?

And if the list is a struggle to create, take the time to identify three or four things you can do now to make your job more rewarding.