Kathy Sierra is So Wrong
Let me start by saying that I'm a regular reader of Kathy's blog, Creating Passionate Users. Most of what I read there is thougthful and insightful. But her post, Don't ask employees to be passionate about the company is just plain wrong and borderline ignorant (ignorant, as in "lacking knowledge, information or awareness). In her post she says:
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.
Companies (at least the good ones), and the managers and leaders in those companies, play a pivotal role in the well-being of employees. First of all, companies make it possible for employees to do the work they're passionate about. Without those companies, many (probably most) of those people flat wouldn't be able to do the work they're passionate about.
Second, please remember the work of a single person seldom (if ever) "creates a passionate user". Passionate users emanate from the cummulative work of many people, from the work of the company. It's the end product of the company that changes the life of the user. Why is that important to the well-being of the employee? Because human beings yearn to be a part of something larger than themselves - that's one of the critical ways they find meaning. Sometimes there isn't much meaning in the laying of a single brick - but there is immense meaning in the building of the cathedral. Companies give employees an opportunity to be part of something larger than themselves - and that is worthy of passion!
Finally (although I COULD go on for days), companies and managers (again, the good ones) provide emotional support and physical resources employees need to learn and grow. And to feel cared about. Most human beings thrive on praise and recognition - managers provide that recognition and praise. Most human beings thrive when they have an opportunity to learn and grow - companies regularly provide those opportunities. Most human beings thrive through social contact - and that is the essence of a company.
Kathy is wrong. There is little that is more relevant than how passionate employees are about their company, their leaders and their managers. If some significant segment of a company's employees aren't passionate about the company, one of two circumstances exist: leadership is deficient or employees are blindly narcissistic.
