How personal happiness can lead to professional success
Carla McCall is co-managing partner at Westborough accounting firm AAFCPAs and chair of the Massachusetts Society of CPAs.
When we tackle a job and a career, we are often asked to sacrifice what we're most passionate about personally in order to punch the proverbial clock. This affects our performance, growth and life outside of work. We can do better by making sure personal happiness is a part of our professional success.
Incorporating passion into your work means that every day matters, and the value of your day-to-day efforts impact your life, career and company. You become more quickly known for an area or skill; that helps build your personal brand among coworkers and customers, in the community and in more public forums such as social media.
This may be easier said than done. More employers need to embrace the idea that employees are not just filling a role for the company – the company is filling a role for them as well. People want to know their impact and feel good about what they are contributing.
As company leaders, we must take a look at our policies and explore how we may make personal drivers a part of our program. At AAFCPAs, for example, we have two specific initiatives that help our employees weave their personal passions and functional expertise together.
The first is our onboarding process with new employees. When associates join the firm, we stress the importance of loving what they do. In addition, we have a group coaching model that allows individuals to experience the different service lines and industries we serve. They work with coaches to determine which arena they most enjoy working in, and they may elect to move around within the company. Once they choose their path, we then tailor their training and education around that area. This training model helps them to gain an appreciation for their coworkers' experiences, challenges and thought processes.
We have institutionalized an individual goal-setting program, which was initially beta tested among the partner group and then will be rolled out firm-wide. Employees share goals with mentors and coaches, keeping them top of mind within their team. Bringing these personal drivers into the forefront of the workplace has opened doors at every level. It helps us to support employees who actively serve nonprofits, who are pursuing advanced degrees, are taking extended trips to visit family overseas, and more.
If matching personal passion with job function is not part of your company culture, you may consider creating programs to integrate the two. It will help keep your employees engaged and committed, and it will help them find new levels of energy and enthusiasm. Working late will feel like a choice instead of a chore, and you will more quickly become recognized for the contributions you make. The ultimate goal is to have your employees answer, with a resounding “YES!” when someone asks them if they love their job.
WBJ Web Partners
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