Falling in Love – At Work

Align Passion with Performance

What if the key to high performance isn’t discipline—but love? In his book 'Love + Work', Marcus Buckingham argues that people thrive when they do what they love. At EQ Coaching, we ask the question – do you love what you do?

At EQ Coaching, we use the CliftonStrengths assessment as our tool of choice to help clients uncover their unique “Wyrd.” Why? Because it doesn’t just offer a label - it offers a lens. The report Gallup generates is deeply personal and statistically extraordinary. Each of the 34 talent themes is described with nuance, capturing the dynamic interplay between strengths in a way that feels both insightful and affirming. Even just the top five themes can appear in over 33 million different combinations. When you consider all 34 themes in order, the odds of two people having the same profile are astronomically low - making your strengths profile as unique as your fingerprint.

This is why we treat each client’s strengths report as a kind of Talent DNA. It’s not a generic personality test—it’s a blueprint for how you naturally think, feel, and behave when you’re at your best. And when you align your work with this blueprint - when you do what you love, in the way you’re wired to do it - you unlock a level of engagement and performance that’s impossible to fake. This is the foundation for love at work: not just doing what energises you but doing it in a way that honours your unique design.

The Case for Love at Work

Gallup’s research shows that only 16% of people are fully engaged at work. Why? Because most workplaces are designed for efficiency, not passion. When people are encouraged to express their loves—the tasks that energise and engage them—they become more innovative, resilient, and fulfilled. Here, in the UK, the engagement levels are far worse than 16%, it’s closer to only 10%. This is the reason why engagement is at the core of what EQ Coaching does and the reason why we frame our work with our clients with our proprietary SUREI Model.

Rory Sutherland argues that people don’t make decisions logically—they make them emotionally and justify them later. The same is true at work. When people are emotionally connected to what they do, they don’t just perform—they flourish. This is why Buckingham’s idea of “love” at work is so powerful: it taps into the psycho-logic of motivation. When people do what they love, they bring energy, resilience, and creativity that no KPI can measure—but every leader can feel.

The Emotional Core of Engagement

Engagement isn’t just a metric—it’s an emotional state. When people are truly engaged at work, they don’t describe their job in neutral terms. They say things like, “I love my job,” or “I can’t wait to get to work in the morning.” They speak with warmth about their colleagues - “My team is amazing,” or “I love my boss, they really get me.” These aren’t just throwaway comments; they’re emotional signals that point to deep psychological investment. In coaching conversations, these moments are unmistakable. They’re the sparks that reveal what truly matters to someone - their values, their sense of belonging, their pride in contribution.

Marcus Buckingham’s work, alongside Gallup’s Q12 engagement framework, reinforces this truth: engagement is not about compliance or even satisfaction—it’s about emotional resonance. The Q12 questions are designed to uncover whether people feel seen, valued, and connected. Do they know what’s expected of them? Do they feel their opinions count? Do they have a best friend at work? These aren’t operational questions—they’re emotional ones. And the answers to them are the most important performance metric a leader can track. Because when people are emotionally engaged, they don’t just show up—they light up. They bring energy, creativity, and resilience that no process or policy can replicate.

Coaching for Alignment

Our coaching approach is rooted in strengths-based development, chasing the engagement moments. We help clients identify their energising tasks, build strategies aligned to their talents, and create environments where they can flourish. Starting with our ‘Strengths Kickstarter’ and moving to long-term a coaching Bundle, we guide people to align passion with performance.

Love is not an irrelevance in business – it is not something to be left at the door when we get to work - it’s a leadership strategy for business transformation. When people do what they love, they do it better. Do you ‘love’ your work and your job? Come and tell us about it!