Job, Career, or Calling?

I recently attended a leadership workshop, the best seminar I have ever been to in my professional career, where I was asked if my work is a job, a career, or a calling. What’s the difference?

Job: we perform primarily for pay and benefits. Punch the clock, do what is minimally required to keep our jobs and pay the bills.

Career: we have larger goals (advancement, recognition, etc.) Come to work early, leave late, and take work home.

Calling: a job that is intrinsically rewarding. Our work contributes to the “greater good.”

We all know which one of the above sounds the most fun, and which one sounds like the best employee to have working for you. But personally, I can see being effective with any of the options. But what makes you happy? What makes me happy? After reflecting for a few minutes, I realized that I’ve worked and succeeded in focusing on my career , but as of late, my labor was just a job. This realization was somewhat depressing to me, so I shared my concerns with my boss.

Luckily for me, my VP is…what’s the best way to describe him…he’s a damn cool guy. In addition to being a brilliant, knowledgeable , and effective leader, he genuinely cares. At this point in my life, I truly want to focus on my calling, and my boss tasked himself with determining how he and our organization could facilitate my goals.

Pretty cool.

I’m not sure if the greater moral to this story is to find your calling, or to find a job/boss who cares. In either case, I find myself happy with my work and goals. Furthermore, as manager, I am trying to emulate the leadership qualities and strategies of which I have been a lucky beneficiary.