Janie Andrich - 21st Century Learning

How to Keep "That Fire in Your Gut" Passion for Your Work

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about “passion.” That kind of “fire in your gut” passion. Think about your first love, and the emotions that surrounded you when you thought of seeing them or the possibility of spending the rest of your life with them. Think also about the passion you felt about that “prefect” job, that passion that made you excited to get up in the morning and go to work because work energised you. Perhaps you even enjoyed working long hours or even working the weekends because of that passion. It filled you, it motivated you, it made you passionate about the relationship that was your work.

As with any “new” relationship or job, that passion wains overtime if you are not careful to care and nurture it. I used to joke about my parents or grandparents talking so fondly about the past and now I understand they were trying to relive the passion filled times of their lives. There are ways to rekindle your passion, careers ebb and flow over time and keeping the fire alive is a career long process.

As a senior leader in my school with over 25 years of experience in school leadership, I find myself revealing in the passions of the past. Those feelings that filled me with energy, creativity and the doggedness to do great things. I’ve spent some time reflecting and wondering how I have kept that passion alive over the years. I feel this is an essential part of what good leaders do, it is the part that excites others, that spurs the team on during difficult times and entices others to join the team. Passion breads passion and passionate people do great things.

Are you experiencing a “passion” deficit in your work life? Does it seem like the weeks drag on and on? Do you have to pull yourself out of bed each morning, dreading the day ahead? If you answered yes to any of the above, it’s time to re-light the fire in your gut. A few simple suggestions may be all you need to rekindle your passion.

1. Re-kindle your fire: Think back to your sweet spot job, the job that most ignited you the fire in your gut. What was it about that job that most excited you? Does your current assignment allow you to that one thing that excited you the most? If not, is there something you can do to rekindle the fire? If it does, how can you extend it or do more of it? Is there something new that excites you that you could apply to your current assignment? Do you need to make a job change?

2. Reconnect to your strengths: Key leadership gurus and research tell us that higher levels of job satisfaction come from working and leading in our areas of strength. Doing that has a greater impact of satisfaction and longevity that pay or working conditions. Identify and reflect on your strengths. Listen to what others say about you in your field. Are you still adding value in your areas of strength? If not, how can you focus on your strengths in your daily work?

3. Have the right mindset: Every job has duties or aspects that damper the fire in our guts. The key it to balance the mundane and boring aspects with the parts that light our fire. Attitude makes all the difference. Having that can-do attitude and planning so that the majority of your time you are using your gifts will enable you to keep that loving feeling about your job. Reflect on the duties of your job and consider how you can schedule, delegate, or realign your day to day activities to allow you to work in your areas of strength. When you wake up each morning, choose your attitude.

4. Align your work with who you are: We cannot separate who we are as a person from who we are as an employee. If your life values, life vision, and intrinsic beliefs are not in alignment with your work, you become disengaged, disconnected and ineffective. You cannot disconnect “self” from different areas of your life, it just doesn’t work that way.

5. Try something new: Consider what you value now in light of your natural gifts and talents. Do they still align with your job? Is there something new you can focus on? Experiment with different areas of your work to find out which aspect of it keeps you enthusiastic and motivated.

In summary, lack of passion lead to burnout, disengagement, negativity, and disillusionment. Rekindling your passion and ensuring you have that “Fire in Your Gut” feeling are essential to job effectiveness and satisfaction. How different would your career be if you kept the fire burning, if you were able to work in your areas of giftedness and others were inspired by your passion. Passion breads passion and passionate people do great things.

I haven't posted on my page for quite some time, it has been an interesting year for me, a year full of changes and transitions that are challenging me professionally. I work at an amazing school and love everything about my job, but this year our school is going through a lot of major leadership transitions. As a "senior leader", a title that sometimes causes we to reflect on what is left of my career, I have spent many hours thinking about how to mentor those who are new to our school or new to a position to support them in making the transition with integrity without coming off as a “bossy, or as a know it all”.  

Some of my angst comes from watching really competent people making rookie mistakes as they transition to a new position or a new school.  There is a reason that leadership guru’s talk about taking it slow and establishing yourself with the people you lead before you make any major changes. Sometimes new leaders view the challenges of the job as urgent, or they transfer the culture and needs of their previous institutions to their new assignment. Because of this they may not take the time needed to integrate into the community before making changes that the culture either does not support or the experts in the institution are not supportive of.  One of my sage sayings throughout my career has been “Nothing good happens in a hurry.”  Failing to take the necessary time to build relationships, to understand the new culture, and to ensure that you view the leaders of the school as experts has doomed very capable leaders to failure.

Whether you are a new leader or a senior leader in a new position or institution, there are 8 things that I challenge you take to heart:

Engage first, act later: Relationships come before everything.

Listen to Learn: Do less talking and more listening, but don't stop there. When conversing with others, make a conscious effort to avoid waiting to talk and trying to prove yourself.

Assume others know more that you do: Approach your job with the notion that everyone has something to contribute, and lean on them as you acculturate. You may just learn a thing or two.

Leave your previous school culture behind: Never transfer the way you did things at your previous institution to your new assignment, it alienates your key leaders and casts a “your way is not the right way” shadow on you. 

Get the big picture: Do not take the perceptions of a “few” and project it as the perceptions of “all.” 

 Don't assume others will give you feedback: Ask for feedback about your performance and let the staff know what you're working on.

Avoid change simply for the sake of it: Find what works well and build on it. Change only those things that detract from the school's mission and goals.

Put yourself in others shoes: Just as teachers should never forget what it's like to be a student, administrators should never forget what it's like to be a teacher.

I will end this post with a leadership thought:

For me, the Easter Season brings to mind new beginning and motivates me to assess my life and make adjustments in my actions and attitudes to improve my outer circumstances and my inner self.

From my perspective any self-assessment should start with relationships because of their vast potential to produce joy and pleasure as well as grief and pain. Relationships are the most important part of a fulfilling life, but are the hardest to nurture and cultivate.

The key to forming and nurturing healthy relationships is to take responsibility for maintaining and improving each important relationship even if that means letting go of grudges, taking the first step, and/or committing to be a better parent, child or significant other. Think how much you can improve your life if you nurture the best in everyone you know.

Next, we need to monitor our attitudes, especially any tendency to be negative, pessimistic or cynical. I have to admit that this one sometimes gets the best or me. Resolve to think, act and speak more positively about yourself, your children, even your coworkers. Think how much warmth and light you can bring into the world with extra smiles, kind deeds and encouraging words.

Additionally, we need to assess whether our choices are consistent with our faith and Christian values and long-term goals. Are we talking one set of values while living another? Are we rationalizing our behavior because we haven't been wise enough, strong enough or brave enough to pay the price that integrity demands?

Finally, we need to resolve to choose the high road more often and to avoid jeopardizing our credibility and integrity for passing pleasures or trivial advantages. Remember, there is often a price to pay to preserve or acquire the most valuable things in our life, lasting relationships, self-respect and meaningful work, and that what we are is a lot more important than what we have.

As an adult with ADHD who found success in routine, I still struggle with "being still" and being a "good listener". Actually, I am a good listener, it just doesn't appear that way to an outsider who doesn't know me.

When your brain multi-tasks and processes information in a different way, even though it may appear that I am not listening, I am. I process at a much higher rate that many of my peers so I have developed strategies to slow my brain (doodling, or playing games on my computer) so that I more closely resemble the acceptable definition of listening.  It is hard being comfortable in your own skin when you are misunderstood and labeled.

In short what could be perceived as a strength can be mis-labled as a weakness if others do not understand and appreciate what makes you different. Now, I'm not saying this difference doesn't frustrate others, but I think understanding goes a long way in embracing all of our differences, not just those with ADHD.

As an educator, I am sensitive to the needs of middle school students during this special season of brain development, where, lets face it, they most closely resemble the ADHD child. I am cogniscant that many beleive that these students struggle because of a deliberate lack of self-control. You would be suprised how many educators belive that ADHD is a choice.

Because I am a school leader who has ADHD I may be more sensitive to the differences in my team mates.  I focus on knowing  them, the way they are wired, their learning style, their social and emotional needs, and their gifts. Through intentional team building and validation or our differences I strive to create a culture that celebrates the unique gifts each of them bring to the team.  

Maybe all of us should be more ADHD, the world might just be a better place because of it.