The Passion Problem

It is pretty cliche in business articles the adage, "Hire for passion."  In non-profit in particular, passion is everything.  How can employees be behind a mission fully, and with unwavering dedication without it?

But I would say passion is overrated.

"Hire for passion. Train for skill," the full saying goes.  In the non-profit sector, there is no shortage of passion.  In any programmatic position, I'll have 100-200 qualified, often over-qualified, applicants.  But when it comes to hiring for critical skills such as operations or finance, there is a glaring lack of qualified applicants (admittedly, this is in part because the positions are not paid nearly as much in the private sector - so really we are running on passion after all).  Often core competencies around communication, decision making, project management and personnel management are lacking and need significant cultivation in most hires (and in leadership), to the detriment of team functioning and effective, critically evaluated program delivery.  What all to often gets overlooked in the emphasis on passion is competency.

In turn, hiring an effective project manager or a program manager who can cultivate the best in their team and a director of finance who can smooth out the cash flow bumps can be truly transformative to the smooth operations, effective program delivery and team culture of an organization.  Sh*t gets done.  Everyone on the team can also learn and grow from it as well. 

Passion is also a double edged sword.  While team member will be inspired, driven and dedicated to support the mission and innovate, they often will do so at the expense of their personal development and health.  In combination with resource constraint, it can create a culture of overwork, where staff are stressed and exhausted (and arguably less effective) and where team members don't feel they can take time for themselves as they may appear to be not "passionate enough."  It's a trap!  A common symptom is a constant sense of overwhelm.

Where working all weekend becomes twisted a badge of honor, I have resorted to implementing policies that forbid answering e-mails after certain hours and ask people to just stay home when they are sick.  I encourage staff to take vacations and develop work-plans and coverage plans that allow for that, rather than miring in a sense that they cannot leave because things will fall apart.  The miraculous thing that happens when staff get to turn off is that they can show up to work more present and effective.

The passion that is there is more alive.