Do you help others love their work and find their uniqueness?

This was my favourite iceberg I spotted when I went to Antarctica last November with Homeward Bound Women in STEMM Leadership Initiative.

Who would have thought an iceberg could look like a cupcake! 🧁

It was so beautiful glistening in the sunshine as we floated by on zodiacs. And it was really big too and so different to all the other icebergs! It was unique!

The uniqueness of this iceberg reminded me of my current favourite book Love + Work by Marcus Buckingham.

I am into my third listen (on Audible) of this wonderful book and in fact I am going to purchase some hard copies for my two daughters and I! So many gems in it for whatever stage of life or career you are.

In his book Marcus explores (based on his research) what makes people love their work. What he distills it down to is finding our own uniqueness. What makes each of us as individuals “love” our work?

So how do you do this?

Marcus mentions three commitments to start:
1. Commit to keep searching for you at your best. (notice the micro details at a granular level)
2. Turn your passions and loves into contributions.
3. Cultivate your own uniqueness.

You may be wondering how do you do this? Notice, notice, notice! This is an inside job and a reflection job. We often discount what we love and love doing thinking others have this uniqueness. It is not always the case.

The preface here is not necessarily what you are good at but the things you love doing and time flies and you are totally absorbed in it!

I was particularly interested in the steps leaders can take to help their team members uncover what they love to do at work. Marcus suggests having regular check ins with team members as a ritual about their upcoming work.

It only takes 15 minutes but done weekly through text, face to face or by phone. Just doing it will create much more trust with your people. Here are the questions he recommends asking weekly:

➡️What activities did you love last week?
➡️What activities did you loathe last week?
➡️What are your priorities this week?
➡️What help do you need from me your team leader?

These check ins help the team member to notice what they love doing and can be immediately applied in the coming week and what help they may need from you as their leader.

This is what a leader as coach does, helps others to bring out their uniqueness! If you would like to learn more, join my Solution Focus Leader as Coach program starting in August. Or if you want to learn at your own pace you may want to consider my Mentoring Made Easy self-paced online program.