Seth Godin asked 10,000 people in 90 countries to describe the conditions at the “best job” they ever had.

4 characteristics that were stated most:
🐝 ✅ I surprised myself with what I could accomplish.
🐝 ✅ I could work independently.
🐝 ✅ The team built something important.
🐝 ✅ People treated me with respect.

Not surprisingly, 4 that were stated least:
➖ I got paid a lot.
➖ It wasn’t difficult to do.
➖ I got to tell people what to do.
➖ I traveled a lot for work.

Over the thanksgiving weekend, I read Seth Godin’s latest book “The song of significance – A new manifesto for teams. 🐝 🐝 🐝

Seth asks three basic questions.

1️⃣ What do people want?

We need to say it out loud to ourselves that when you get treated with respect at work and built something of significance – nothing else compares.
Yes, we need to make a living. But how do we make a life?
It might not be simply about the money.

2️⃣ What do companies need?

Companies need more creativity and humanity.
Both things that AI is still a while away from accomplishing.

3️⃣ How can we bridge the gap?

Seth argues that companies pay close attention to the difference between management vs. leadership.
You guessed right – Only the latter fosters environments that nurture employees to do the work that matters. It’s creating a difference, being part of something, and doing work that we’re proud of.

Seth draws an analogy to the day a new queen bee 🐝 is born in the hive, and how the existing queen and her most experienced bees will swarm and leave. The entire swarm in seeking possibility and growth, without precisely knowing where they’re headed. 🌼 🌼 🌸 🌸 🌳 🌳
The sound 🎶 the swarming bees make is thrilling. The bees 🐝 🐝 🐝 embrace the challenge to agree upon and inhabit a new home or they’ll perish. These bees need to get from here to there without a precise map, and to do it with cooperation, dignity and connection. This is the song of significance 🐝 🐝 🐝

This is what motivated people to do the work that can’t be automated, mechanized, or outsourced. And this is that song that humans yearn to sing together.

Are there times you’ve had in life where you sang the song of significance? What did it look, feel, taste, and smell like?
How can you bring some of it in your current role? This could make all the difference for 2024!