Question 1: What was the best job you ever had?
Think about that question for a while; write down the answer, what was so special about that job? Be very clear.
Now I will lay you a bet…
I bet you that when you were doing that job it was a perfect fit for you:
- You could do the things that you really wanted to do
- It was fascinating
- It played to your skills
- You learnt interesting things
- You got to make the decisions on the things that you cared about
- It was a calling not a job
It was almost as if you were put on this earth to do that job, it was the best job in the world.
Question Two: Do your team have the best jobs in the world?
Do the people in your team have the best jobs they ever had? Do they have jobs that are perfectly crafted for them?
- Do they play to their ambitions?
- Are they fascinated by what they could achieve?
- Do they use all their skills and capabilities?
- Would they drag themselves off their sick beds to come to work?
Hell, instead of asking yourself you could even ask them, how is that for a scary thought?
Question Three: How would it be if their jobs were a perfect fit for them?
How would they perform? Would they work late on Friday afternoons?
Could you mould your jobs to fit your people, rather than moulding your people to fit your jobs?
What would that do for employee engagement?
“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have” ~ Vince Lombardi.
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Image by Matthew Wilkinson
P.S. Jimmy, it’s not too shoddy
Hi James,
Your three questions made me think and ponder on roles that I have had in the past and the currently.
Great insight and very very useful. Thank you.
Adrian
Hello James
Yes, there is vast difference between a job and a calling. A job depletes the human being. A calling lifts the human being, it inspires, it draws forth effortless effort, and often generates joy even if the work is physically/mentally demanding.
Yet, the powers that be insist on jobs and treating human beings who yearn for a calling as objects that exist to fill jobs. I have witnessed the most remarkable effort, teamwork, and result where people were called forth by a cause that inspired them. And where they put their passion, their calling into play in the service of the inspiring cause.
Maz