I’m obsessed with purpose. With living life on purpose. With working and leading on purpose. With being purposeful and aligned with our values, our time, and our attention. With what gives our life and work meaning. And how we can create safe and meaningful connections at work.
Marcus Buckingham’s Love and Work is a terrific read and an even better audiobook. Those of you who listened to it have told me that you felt as if you were sitting right next to him, enjoying a cup of tea (he’s British). If you ever want to chat about it, I’d love to have a “cuppa” together and share what we’re seeing, sensing, and feeling about purpose in our lives.
I’m such a believer in his philosophy about love and work that I’ve completed his six-part comprehensive leader-designation training so I can help my clients and the Stoop community understand the intersection between what they love to do and how to contribute.
Here’s an excerpt from Buckingham’s book description:
You’ve long been told to “Do what you love.” Sounds simple, but the real challenge is how to do this in a world not set up to help you. Most of us actually don’t know the real truth of what we love–what engages us and makes us thrive–and our workplaces, jobs, schools, even our parents, are focused instead on making us conform. Sadly, no person or system is dedicated to discovering the crucial intersection between what you love to do and how you contribute it to others.
In this eye-opening, uplifting book, Buckingham shows you how to break free from this conformity–how to decode your own loves, turn them into their most powerful expression, and do the same for those you lead and those you love.
- How can you use love to reveal your unique gifts?
- How can you pinpoint what makes you stand out from anyone else?
- How can you choose roles in which you’ll excel?
Love and Work unlocks answers to these questions and others, so you can:
- Choose the right role on the team.
- Describe yourself compellingly in job interviews.
- Mold your existing role so that it calls upon the very best of you.
- Position yourself as a leader in such a way that your followers quickly come to trust in you.
- Make lasting change for your team, your company, your family, or your students.
One of Buckingham’s most powerful lessons from the book examines the importance of discovering our strengths before we reach adulthood. He explores the importance of teaching our children how to discover what they truly love. Buckingham emphasizes that finding one’s passion is not a mere luxury but an essential component of leading a fulfilling and successful life.
The author also suggests that by encouraging our children to explore various activities and experiences, we can help them identify their unique strengths and interests. Buckingham stresses the significance of focusing on individual talents rather than trying to conform to societal expectations or predefined career paths.
By fostering an environment that nurtures curiosity, self-awareness, and resilience, we can empower our children to navigate their personal journeys of self-discovery and guide them toward pursuing a path aligned with their passions. Buckingham’s insights serve as a valuable reminder to prioritize personal fulfillment and meaning when guiding our children’s educational and career choices.
Love, the most powerful of human emotions, the source of all creativity, collaboration, insight, and excellence, has been systematically drained from our lives–our work, teams, and classrooms. It’s time we brought love back in. Love and Work shows you how.
