You thought this was a Valentine’s Day post, didn’t you? It’s not. It’s actually a business post. About passion. Yes, business and passion.

There are some jobs that don’t need passion. They’re just jobs. However, there are many jobs that go beyond “jobs.” Health care is full of those.

The problem with hiring people in health care is that we often overlook passion. Often. We focus on skills and competencies and certifications while completely and blindly skipping past the passion, the drive, to be skillful and competent. Passion is what keeps people coming to work day after day; skill won’t do that.

As leaders, we can train and educate new people forever and a day. We can’t buy passion, though. Great healthcare professionals are those that have both – knowledge and skills woven with the thread of passion. Those are the people we scramble to hire, bend over backwards to have on our teams. They make “work” better for everyone because it’s no longer work; it’s passion.

What’s your passion? Are you leveraging it, making it work for yourself, your organization, and everyone else around you? If not, find your passion and work it. That’s where the magic happens.