Why Joy Matters

Organizations are made up of people — and so they are only as effective, functional, and happy as the people who make them up. 

In order to unlock growth of an organization, we have to have to unlock the potential within its people. There's just no other way to do it. Our organizations, companies, and causes reflect the consciousness, performance, and awareness of their members.

As people, what we care about and why matters. It impacts our ability to unlock our potential — and to unlock the potential of the people around us. We call this passion. In other words, to create growing organizations, we have to tap into the passions of the people within those organizations. We have to find out what they care about.

Often our clients can't quite articulate what fuels their passions. So we start with a simple and yet provocative question: "What brings you joy?" The answer to that question is a magnificent window into our values. It helps us see our values and the values our team members express in every conversation, decision, and day.

When our personal values align with the values of our organization, our efforts sycnchronize and harmonize into outcomes that are meaningful and fulfilling. When our personal values don't align with the values of our organization, at best our work lacks meaning. At worst, our work is actively eroding our fulfillment. This alignment between personal passion and organization values is not trivial. It is one of keys to harnessing growth for any organization we care about.

Following last week’s discussion on harnessing your passion, listen to Plenty's co-leaders  Jeff Shuck and Jennifer Mulholland as they discuss why joy matters and how our values impact the individuals and organizations we associate with.

Jennifer Mulholland and Jeff Shuck, Co-Leaders of Plenty, discuss the importance of values at the Classy Collaborative in Boston in June 2017.