The pandemic shifted how we assess our lives, work and happiness. We have had enough of loveless work and are seeking more happiness in our working lives, as seen by the ‘great resignation’ and ‘quiet quitting’ trends.
According to Indeed’s Work Wellbeing 2023 Report, 46% of people say their expectation of happiness at work increased in the last year, whilst 90% of people believe that how we feel at work matters.
It’s against this backdrop that Marcus Buckingham – researcher and author on strengths and part of the team behind Clifton Strengths – challenges convention.
In his book ‘Love + Work’, he argues that our individuality and uniqueness can get lost against expectations of conformity at work, meaning our strengths and loves can often become diluted.
This means the onus is on us to discover when we are at our best and build our lives and careers around this.
But how?
We need to look for 3 signs of love:
1. Instinct. This is very individual and often unexplainable – we have to trust ourselves and look for the actions, people and situations that send us signals
2. Flow. We need to find our ‘red threads’ – the activities that feel easy, where time flies and we feel energised and fulfilled
3. Rapid learning. Where things just click and come naturally to us – we pick things up quickly and can perform at high levels almost immediately
When we find love in what we do, we need to amplify this. Research shows that people who thrive in what they do strongly agree with the following two questions:
– Do you have the chance to play to your strengths every day?
– Were you excited to go to work every day last week?
This doesn’t mean all day and all activities, but something each day that feels like second nature, that exhilarates us, that we love.
I would encourage everyone to read this book, but I think it will resonate most with anyone who is falling out of love with their career and considering a transition. It really echoed with me personally and a coach.
A COACHING STORY
A client came to me seeking a new career, keen to pivot from their professional anchor of 20 years. They had fallen out of love with what they did.
We explored their values, purpose and strengths; their instincts, red threads, and what came naturally to them.
Our conversations meandered, hit dead ends, and at times ended up off the map…before the client had a light bulb moment. They came full circle and realised that with focusing more on their strengths, what energised them, and what parts of the day they loved, they could reshape their business and role to find more happiness.
This is what I love about coaching with my clients – you have to be open, trust the process and each other, go with the flow and be intuitive. You never know where you’ll end up together.
To me coaching comes naturally, it’s instinctive and fulfills me.
What do you love about what you do?
