PASSION is something that is easily celebrated in the workplace.

In fact, our obsession with passion appears to be growing. An analysis of more than 200 million job postings found that the use of the word PASSION  in U.S. job listings increased nearly tenfold between 2007 and 2019. Hiring managers screen for it. Companies weave it into their values. Leaders seek it out in employees. And many of us hope to find it in our own work.

It’s easy to see why.

People who are deeply invested in what they do often bring a different level of energy, care, and commitment to their work. They lean into challenges, persist through setbacks, and are more likely to go beyond what’s required because the work matters to them.

And the data backs up the desire.

PASSION is one of the 28 human motives identified through our research that are the heart of what drives us to stay, grow, and thrive at work. When motives like PASSION are fulfilled, people are more likely to feel motivated, engaged, and committed. 

We’ve worked with many teams, like this example below, who find PASSION to be one of their strongest collective motivational drivers through our Motives Met Human Needs Assessment™.

But a high PASSION score is only one piece of the picture. The real value comes from understanding the nuance behind the data. Is this need strong or struggling? How do we elevate it? What does it mean for our team? How do leaders create more of it?

So let’s explore the power of PASSION, the five different ways it can show up at work, and the role leaders play in ensuring they are met. 

So What Is PASSION, Really?

PASSION lives within the Meaning Domain of the Motives Circumplex framework™. It’s the motive connected to feeling energized by what you do, invested in your work, and connected to a sense of meaning or purpose through your efforts.

At the end of the day, all 28 motives are about how we want to feel at work when our needs are met and how we don’t want to feel when they aren’t.

When PASSION is met, people often feel:

• Energized
• Inspired
• Motivated
• Engaged

When PASSION goes unmet, the emotional experience can shift toward:

• Detachment
• Indifference
• Dullness
• Even dread

While most of us like the idea of PASSION, not everyone is driven by it in the same way. One of the biggest misconceptions in the workplace is that everyone should be passionate about their work in the same way, or it should be the ultimate goal for every employee. For some people, work is where PASSION really needs to shine through; for others, PASSION takes a backseat to other motive priorities like SECURITY or CONNECTION. That’s why the goal isn’t to make everyone more passionate. The goal is to understand what helps each person thrive uniquely and create the conditions where their most important motives can be fulfilled.

Motive diversity invites us to embrace each person’s unique motive blueprint, to navigate the tensions between these needs and values on our teams, and take a personalized approach to retention and engagement that gets results.

The 5 Types of PASSION

The source of PASSION can vary significantly from person to person and team to team.

Take the consulting firm highlighted above, their primary energy is fueled by people. Team members were energized by collaboration, relationships, and the opportunity to work alongside talented leaders in their business. Compare that to another team we worked with whose PASSION was rooted in their mission. And while they cared deeply about the organization’s purpose, many employees were struggling to feel the impact of their day-to-day work.

PASSION fuels a deep sense of aliveness at work. It’s the energy you feel when what you’re doing actually means something to you, whether that’s the work itself, the people you do it with, the mission you’re serving, the mastery you’re building, or the environment you’re in.

Here are five ways PASSION can be ignited at work:

🔥 Task Passion

Energy comes from doing certain activities. These individuals love the actual work itself. They come alive when they get to spend time doing tasks they enjoy and excel at.

🔥 Mission Passion

Energy comes from impact. These people are fueled by meaning. They are inspired when they know how their work contributes to something bigger or solves problems they care about.

🔥 People Passion

Energy comes from relationships and collaboration. For these individuals, work becomes meaningful because of who they do it with.

🔥 Place Passion

Energy comes from the environment and culture. They care deeply about where the work happens and the experience of being part of the organization.

🔥 Craft

Energy comes from mastery. These people are driven by growth, excellence, and becoming exceptionally good at what they do.

Protecting Passion

One of the most impactful ways to support this motive as a leader isn’t just to focus on creating more of it, it’s to protect it. We can’t force meaning and excitement, but often that flame is already there; it’s just easy to burn out.

These are things that commonly stifle people’s passion:

❌ Overwhelming workloads

❌ Constant time pressure

❌ Micromanagement

❌ Role misalignment

❌ Lack of clarity

❌ No space for creativity or innovation

❌ Losing sight of impact

How Leaders Can Support PASSION

Over the years, we’ve helped leaders translate PASSION into meaningful action. Here’s what moves the needle:

⚡ Make impact visible. Share real-world examples of how the work is making a difference. Highlight measurable outcomes. Let people hear gratitude directly from those they’ve impacted, if possible, whether it’s clients or customers. Generic inspiration fades fast; specific stories stick.

⚡ Learn the source of your team’s PASSION. Discover who is most passion-motivated, and understand which types of PASSION fuel your people most.

⚡ Give people passionate choices where you can. Where is there room to let someone lean into the type of work that energizes them? Small choices add up to a big difference.

⚡ Create reflection moments. Meaning is often created in moments of real reflection. Pause and ask your team: Where did we see impact this month? What moment reminded us why this matters? What are we proud of?

⚡ Remove obstacles. A good reflection for you and your team: What’s one obstacle getting in the way of our PASSION shining through? 

⚡ Connect people to the right people. If someone on your team is people-passion driven, who they work alongside matters enormously. Intentional collaboration with pairing people with colleagues and leaders they genuinely admire and learn from can reignite energy that’s been dimming.

⚡ Create “show and tell” moments. Spotlight a different team member each month and invite them to share what they’re working on, what they’re proud of, or what’s lighting them up right now both in and outside of work. When people bring more of their whole selves to work, PASSION often follows.

Bring the Power of Motives into Your Workplace

Want to understand the motives driving your team and build strategies together to meet them? Start with the Motives Met Human Needs Assessment.