Do What You Love And You’ll Never Work A Day In Your Life
It’s a new year, so I thought I’d try something new with the articles I write.
As some of you might already know, I’ve become increasingly interested in leadership coaching and business strategy over the last few years. Those two things have always been a part of my day-to-day working life, but I haven’t spent much time talking about them in my posts. Now, thanks mainly to the knock-on effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, the way most of us do business and interact with our clients and colleagues has changed dramatically. The goalposts have been moved, and – no matter what field we work in – if we're going to stay ahead of our competition, we've got to think more creatively and adopt more creative strategies.
That’s what I’d like to talk about this year; business strategy, business culture, how to fill your team with A-players, how you can hold onto those A-players once you’ve found them, the importance of a plan, the importance of a target… and anything else I think of, or that you want to ask me about. I’ll still write about these subjects from a business tech angle, but I won’t bang on about legal and property software as much as I’ve done in the past, although legal and property software is still a major part of what I do when I’m not working on these articles! I just wanted to find a new way to offer insight and value and stir up a discussion now and again. As always, if you’ve ever got any comments or questions, I’d be very interested to hear them.
So, now all that has been said, the old saying, "Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life", seems like an excellent place to start the ball rolling.
Is it a saying you agree with, or do you think it’s just another one of those corny, old-fashioned cliches our parents and grandparents used to spout way back in the mists of time, like “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” and "There's no use crying over spilt milk"?
For me, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life” has always made a lot of sense. Barring a particular two months when the boss I used to work for was a complete… well, let’s just say, our personalities didn’t exactly gel… I've loved every minute of my working life. Still, I'm aware that makes me very lucky because many people I know haven't been that fortunate.
But is it really “lucky” to be able to do what we love, or are focus, resilience, and (admittedly) a bit of good fortune the actual reasons why some people are doing what they love, while other people are trapped in jobs that either just pay the bills or that they actively despise?
I'll be candid. The fact that I've always loved what I do has largely been intentional. I knew what I wanted to do very early on, identified my strengths and passions, and played to them whenever I could. Even during those times when things went more than a bit pear-shaped (and I've had my fair share of those), it was easier for me to keep going than give up because I knew that, despite all the difficulties and challenges, I was on the right road. It wasn’t always a smooth road but believing in my gut it’s the road I was meant to follow helped get me through the bumpy sections and stopped me (mostly) from getting waylaid by other things.
Start with your strengths to identify the work you will love.
This is why I'm such a vocal advocate for strengths-based coaching because:
The sooner we’re able to identify our strengths, the quicker we’ll find the best place to use them, and the more productive and happier we’ll be.
As an employer, leader or manager, when you identify the individual strengths in your employees and team members, you’ll be able to put them in roles or give them jobs that use those strengths to their – and your – best benefit.
There’s no big secret to strengths-based coaching, even though a lot of coaches will make it sound like something complex and mysterious that only the gifted few can do.
At its heart, strengths-based coaching is simply finding out what you/your employees are good at, what their drivers/motivators are, and knowing how to channel all that skill and energy in the right direction.
Easily the most effective strengths-identifying tool that I’ve ever used is something called the CliftonStrengths assessment. In fact, after my own coach, Oliver Hill, introduced me to CliftonStrengths, I was so impressed by it that I recently became a certified CliftonStrengths coach. However, please don’t think this article is just a convoluted way for me to try and drum up some coaching business because that's not what this is about; there are a lot of other extremely useful strengths-based assessment tools out there, and the only takeaway I want you to get from this article is:
Identifying your strengths is the key to “doing what you love, and never working a day in your life.”
It’s also the key to helping your employees and team members “do what they love, so they’ll never work a day in their life.”
And although I didn't realise it at the time, that's why I've been "lucky" enough always to love what I do; because I knew what my strengths were and focused on them. Apart from the two months I mentioned earlier, I’ve also been fortunate enough to work with bosses and colleagues who have let me focus on my strengths too.
If you're a boss, leader, or manager, I'd encourage you to do that with your people. Recognise that your employees and team members have their own unique strengths, talents, and capabilities. Helping them develop those qualities will enable them to become even better at what they do.
What else will it do?
It will make them more efficient and proactive.
It will make them more flexible and collaborative and encourage them to take responsibility for their actions and performance.
It will make your workplace culture more robust and massively improve your employees’ morale and overall job satisfaction.
Alternatively, if you’re somebody who hasn’t been “lucky” enough to so far do what you love, I’d urge you to take a long, hard look at your strengths and passions and explore ways you can use them to your optimum advantage. It will probably take a bit of stepping outside your comfort zone to make it happen, but the results will be more than worth it.
