Passion Vs Competency

Let us look at the definitions of each word.

Competency is (a) The quality of being adequately or well qualified physically and intellectually (b) An observable, measurable pattern of skills, knowledge, abilities, behaviors, and other characteristics that an individual needs to perform work roles or occupational functions successfully. 

Every job has set of competencies. Recruitment of employees should be competency based. While measuring performance of employees, organization should measure level of competencies as well. Internal placement of employees is based on competencies. 

Passion (from the Latin patior, meaning to suffer or to endure) is an emotion of feeling very strongly about a person. Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm or desire for anything. Passion often applies to lively or eager interest in or admiration for proposal, cause, or activity or love. The dictionary meaning of passion is boundless enthusiasm.

DAYTON-FREIGHT-LINES 

If competencies are compared as locomotive of your career then passion is its fuel. The speed of the locomotive is linked to the amount of fuel you pour in the engine. While competencies can be taught, passion cannot be taught.

Outstanding persons have shown passion in work. While job competencies get success in career, passion gives outstanding achievement in life. Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bacchan and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam could acquire outstanding success in their respective field because of their passion.

Discoveries and inventions by scientist were the result of the passion and not because of scientific temperament or their competencies alone. Who were the inventors of aero plane? They were just bicycle mechanics! 

Without passion, a equipment salesman named Ray Kroc would not have started his first restaurant at the age of 52. Later it became McDonald chain. Americans like Jack Welch GE or Bill Gates of Microsoft or Fredrick Wallace Smith of FedEx built their industrial empires because of their passion to give something new to the society and not just because of their business competencies. 

Contrast this with Indians. In India, certain section of the society, were doing business for the last couple of thousands of years. Then we supposed to have good number of Indian MNCs. But we have very few. WHY? Because these people were business-competent, but not pass ionate to grow beyond boundaries.

If you watch TV channels like Discovery, National Geographic or Animal Planet, you will find studious nature of the westerners. The programmes shown on these channels clearly show passion for learning of the westerners.

In Indian context 99% of the Indians are often harried to earn their livelihood and cannot afford to have passion. Passionate people require support not only from the society but by their immediate family members as well. Passion to do something is often considered as risk to the sustenance and constant nagging by spouse or the immediate family members evaporates passion. Few exceptions are like Sachin Tendulkar Abhinav Bindra whose parents had channelized his passion of cricket/shooting very well. 

Employers expect their employees to show passion in their work. But this does not happen in most of the cases because there is obvious difference between working for oneself and working for someone else. The second reason is employees have great fear of failure too because to be passionate with something would require experimenting with company's money. How many companies are ready to accommodate failure of their employees? The third reason is of course deadlines that employers give to the employees. 

Employers who can get employees with positive attitude itself are achievement, getting employees with passion is distant dream. 

************************************************

This is guest blog from my friend and our Corporate Trainer Mr.Dinesh Diwakar. 

Dinesh is ex Air-force man, one of the finest corporate trainer around in India. Nice human being. 

Competency is like insurance it can get you a job, but passion take you to great heights, from where compensation will be raining in different forms like name, fame, money popularity etc.