Firing on all cylinders

The key to fulfilment lies in the difference between having a job and finding your vocation, says Ian Christelow of ActionCOACH.

Firing on all cylinders

The key to fulfilment lies in the difference between having a job and finding your vocation, says Ian Christelow of ActionCOACH.

‘We’ve all been there. It’s Sunday evening and you’re preparing to face the next five days of work. You’re contemplating the usually hectic commute to the office on a Monday morning – whether by car, train or bus – while getting ready mentally for the tasks that lay ahead. Some are boring, some are stressful, but either way it’s not your definition of fun, excitement or satisfaction.

During my last two years in the corporate world, the only things which kept me sane were thoughts of playing cricket the following weekend or having a fun night out. It was my way of making it through to Friday evening. But it was difficult to escape the thought of having to survive five days of the same old grind and work-place politics. Worse still, some people are left so flat from their working week they don’t have enough energy left to enjoy the weekend.

So why are some people only firing on somewhere between zero and six cylinders – and not the full 16?

For those who have only ever driven electric cars, I’d better start by explaining what a cylinder is. It’s the part of an old-style combustion engine which provides the power. Using this concept, the founder of the business coaching profession, Brad Sugars, took the theory of how an engine actually works, to develop his 16 Cylinders of High Performance. He would use this innovative model to further educate his clients in the world of business. Brad, who is the founder of the global business coaching franchise ActionCOACH, divided the 16 drivers of high performance into two areas and four distinct types of power provider.

These are: Body (3 cylinders), Mind (3 cylinders), Heart (5 cylinders) and Spirit (5 cylinders).

Body and mind

You’ve got to look after your body with exercise, sleep and nutrition – all of the things that have been written about a million times or more before.  And you’ve got to feed your mind with knowledge. Brad Sugars taught me how you must ‘learn before you earn.’ And I back that theory 100%. Returning to my last two years in the corporate world, I realised I just wasn’t learning at all. The next year would simply be a photocopy of the previous one. Human beings need to continually grow. Back in 2001, I discovered ActionCOACH and their message about the importance of how companies and people must continue to develop through business re-education. It was a magnet to me back then, and still is.

Heart and spirit

We now move on to the 10 combined cylinders of heart and spirit. This is the energy which drives people to achieve amazing things. Heart is the love of, and connection with, people. All human beings have a desire to belong. We are tribal. As a leader, nobody will follow you if you’re only self-serving. Leaders must serve others if they want to be successful. As a proud Leeds fan, I’ve studied their manager Marcelo Bielsa and everything he does is to serve people. He led Argentina to the Olympic Gold Medal in 2004 and was named South American coach of the year when in charge of Chile. Despite being Argentinian, he is still loved in Chile – and there’s a huge rivalry between these two big footballing nations.

Bielsa’s love of football and deep interest in the game, as well as its people, is there for all to see. And to achieve your goals you need to love life and develop a genuine interest in people. In my role at ActionCOACH, I love to get involved in interviewing candidates for the franchise. I have a fascination with people and what makes them tick. I want to see the light bulbs switch on in a person’s eyes during our franchise discovery days. I still make pages of notes at training and conference days, while swapping information about my experiences in the bar and in the online forums afterwards. I try to make the most of every moment, whether in the sea and sand dunes having fun with my young daughters or playing tennis at my local club – where the infrequent ungettable drop shot, still excites me, providing I’m the one who’s playing it!

And so it is that heart and spirit beats body and mind 10-6. But how does this play out in the job market. What are people actually looking for?  Most of them, when searching for a new job, place body and mind at the top of their list. I did too when I was younger. I spent five years sacrificing 15 hours a week to become a chartered management accountant. When I qualified in 1990, I believed I had achieved the holy grail of £25,000 per annum in a respectable job for life. But, of course, I hadn’t. Within a few weeks I realised I needed something more interesting and more fulfilling. I may have made my parents proud, and perhaps pleased my teachers too, but I still hadn’t found what I was looking for.

Then, in September 2001, I read the advert headline for a General Manager in the London Evening Standard

Wanted: People with Passion, People with Heart…

I applied along with 200 other similarly inspired people. I would have gone on hunger strike at ActionCOACH’s offices if I hadn’t got the job … luckily, I did! I got to attend ActionCOACH Uni, learning from 6am to 10pm for 10 days straight (it’s less hardcore now). I grew as a person and made friends for life. Long days, but I actually woke up energised because I had found my passion, my vocation. 

The 16 Cylinders model had a profound impact on me; I called my first company 16 Cylinders Ltd as a constant reminder I was looking for people who loved helping other people and had a genuine interest in the business of business – the kind of people who’d bring passion and energy to the business every day as they fired on all 16 of their innate cylinders.

Here’s the kicker

If a job only involves body and mind, then it’s highly likely that staff will only fire on one or two cylinders. For starters, one of my mentors at ActionCOACH Uni, Steve Leach, taught me if you insist on calling your employees ‘Staff’, then chances are actually all you’ll get is ‘Stuff all’ – which sounds much better in Steve’s Australian accent! Business is a team sport where every member needs to lead, help each other and go the extra mile. It’s the heart and spirit which gives your body and mind the energy it needs to achieve great things. Business owners must learn how to create roles where their team members feel valued and know it’s their vocation, their calling in life.

Parting shot

The buzz of firing on all 16 cylinders is truly addictive. It energises and fulfils. Go find your cause, something you’re passionate about and which serves people. The word ‘vocation’ is derived from the Latin ‘vocationem.’ It means spiritual calling and I’m thankful to live most of my waking hours following my vocation.’

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ian Christelow
Ian Christelow
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