Unleashing Your Passion & Potential at Work & Beyond

On January 1, 2019, I sent a note to my team at WeWork, encouraging each of them to think through who they intend to become — as people and as professionals. The email started:

“In my experience, defining personal and professional mission, values, and goals has been a difference maker — both in growing, but also in attaining a higher degree of personal and professional fulfillment than I achieved early in my career.”

Above is the career planning framework I shared in that email — it's one that I've used on myself and with my direct reports and mentees. It can help you zero in on your passions, values, and skillsets — the ideal starting block from which to begin an intentional conversation about your career and life. 

In my email, I went on to offer any member of my team — and subsequently, any employee at WeWork — a one hour mentoring session, so long as they first thought through their own passions, values, and skillsets.

In the last four months, I’ve done nearly 100 of these sessions across 12+ countries — and I’ll tell you, these not only have been informative, but fulfilling, and action-oriented for me. For a number of my mentees they've also sparked new ideas, connections, and even a couple of new jobs. 

Below, I’ve summarized a few of my high level take-aways from these mentoring sessions. These are not only consistent with my own experience, but underscore why I intend to do more of this type of mentoring at WeWork and beyond. 

Question: What frameworks have you used to think through your personal and professional goals? And how have you gone about helping others to more deeply connect with their own?

If you have any feedback or lessons learned here, please feel free to comment below. Onward!

What is mentoring?

• It’s a two-way street;
• An opportunity to connect deeply;
• To serve as someone’s spark (or inspiration), but not their answer. 
• As the maxim goes, “you are the company you keep.” It's therefore, always in your power to develop the relationships, beliefs, and habits that will propel you toward your north star — personally and professionally.
• As a manager / leader / human, mentoring is your secret weapon. It not only unlocks the potential of those around you, but also serves as the foundation for (your) lifelong relationships. From a place of trust, your mentor / mentee can be your always reliable sounding board and someone who sees you through multiple chapters of your career and life. 

Critical skillsets and mindsets to unleash your passion and potential:

• Reliable goal attainment is a function of the two qualities: Your intention and your attention. Intention is your clear vision of a desired outcome. Attention is your focus. When you set your sights on an desired outcome and then focus your attention on it, you’ll not only see opportunity more clearly, but you’ll be primed to seize it.
• Gratitude is powerful. It’s a starting block from which you can take on any new challenge ... fearlessly.
• We plan our careers, so why shouldn’t we plan our breaks? One of my mentees intends to take multiple sabbaticals throughout his career rather than eventually retiring. I like this concept — and it’s now part of my long-term plan, too.
• Take a portfolio approach to work and life. You can explore multiple interests today — in fact, the most enterprising employees, managers, and leaders I’ve met are frequently tapping into a variety of interests and, in so doing, identifying the untapped opportunities that lie at their intersection.
• Be a divergent thinker. As you try on new ideas and experiences be open to connecting with your passion — even pursue it, despite the fact that it’s incongruent with your current course. Know that it’s your ego telling you “you’ll fail." It’s also your ego telling you “you can’t make a living doing that.” I was excited to have lunch a few weeks ago with one of my WeWork mentees — a salesperson, who already is taking the steps to pursue his true calling: Data science.

Who sought out my mentoring? Generally speaking, these employees were:

• Abundant thinkers. People who embrace their potential to be, do, and have whatever they can dream. 
• Those with a growth mindset and action orientation. From expansive thinking to focused doing — these employees were looking for a sounding board to determine their next steps.
• Mission-driven humans. They were looking to do more good work — better, faster, and more scalably. While some already had a clear sense of their personal mission, many were still in search of it (and that's just fine).
• Resourceful doers. For these employees, my mentorship was just one outlet. Many were engaged in “20% Time” at WeWork and beyond — taking the initiative to develop the new skillsets, ways of thinking, and more expansive networks they'd need to achieve their goals.
• Door openers. These employees confidently charged through an "open door" -- doing their homework and then taking me up on my offer to provide career coaching and advice. Because of their awareness, commitment, and clear intention, I don't doubt that each of these employees will find their next "right door" and charge through it -- whether it's opened or closed.