Whose cause is it anyway?

Yet again Kathy Sierra is right on target; She writes…

People ask me… How can I get our employees to be passionate about the company?” Wrong question. Passion for our employer, manager, current job? Irrelevant. Passion for our profession and the kind of work we do? Crucial. If I own company FOO, I don’t need employees with a passion for FOO. I want those with a passion for the work they’re doing… The company should behave just like a good user interface – support people in doing what they’re trying to do, and stay the hell out of their way.

Substitute “passionate about the company” with “passionate about the charity”.  We need passion for the cause, passion for delivering real benefits to stakeholders.

Charity employees (and volunteers) need to be outward-looking, rather than inward-looking.

In my buzz director post a few months back, I put it like this:

If you see the never-ending strategic review dragging your new colleagues down, remind them of the reasons they joined your organisation in the first place. Get them passionate (and close) to your cause once again. Share their passion. Be energetic. Be useful.

Make a difference.