Can You Really Love Your Work? Marcus Buckingham Weighs In
I’ve been a longtime consumer of the research, thought leadership, and wisdom of Marcus Buckingham. A New York Times best-selling author of two of the most popular business books of all time. He also has two of Harvard Business Review’s most circulated, industry-changing cover articles, and his strengths assessments have been taken by over 10 million people worldwide.
I’m a devotee of his Strengths Revolution, which started with the simplest of insights: that when people spend the majority of each day at work using their greatest talents and engaged in their favorite tasks, doing what they want to do, both they and the organization win.
The Struggle is Real
As a career and executive coach, I hear from many who are unhappy in their work and in roles that don’t honor their strengths. They are on the brink of burnout – or they are already fried.
Current data tells us that less than 16% are fully engaged at work and as Buckingham says, “The rest of us are just selling our time and our talent and getting compensated for our trouble.”
The global pandemic was an awakening that focused a spotlight on the depletion of leaders, toxic work cultures, and a dangerous treadmill of employee unsatisfaction that fueled the Great Resignation.
Let The Love Back In
Buckingham passionately believes,
“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.”
The good news is that he shows us how to rediscover what we truly love in his new book: Love+Work. He offers a roadmap for infusing love back into our work, which impacts our homes, our relationships, our schools, and our communities.
Buckingham shows you how to break free from the unhealthy 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. He will help you discover your unique answers to these questions and more.
- 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?
Lean Into Your Strengths
Strengths are your inborn talents that you can hone and polish to a level of self-mastery. Your strengths energize you and bring you satisfaction and can also help you find the right role, or career field that honors the best version of you.
Honoring your strengths will help you find joy and love in your work, and your life. Living your strengths allows you to live the very best of you.
Your Working Life
I had the great pleasure of speaking with Marcus Buckingham on my podcast, Your Working Life and he talks about his new book and specifically how you can find what you love, and love what you do, so you can do it for the rest of your life.
This is the second time I showcased Buckingham on my podcast. In 2020, he talked about the unimpeachable data that reveals how humans really work. I encourage you to listen to both podcasts and know that Marcus is as warm and genuine as he sounds. It’s like having a conversation with a dear friend – you leave re-energized with meaning, purpose, and action steps to move forward.
Bring The Love Back In
The concept of bringing the love back into your work (or finding it in the first place) may sound daunting. Marcus Buckingham created a tool – the StandOut Strengths Assessment that will help you discover the best, most beautiful version of yourself.
My tag line is Enjoy Your Career. Love Your Life ™ I believe in it so much, I had it trademarked.
Marcus Buckingham’s message rings loud and clearly for me and I hope it does for you as well.
“My hope and dream is that you find a life in which you get to express the unique spirit that is you, in the most intelligent, most contributive, most meaningful way possible.”
It’s time we brought love back in.
