How to Find More Joy, Energy, Passion, Peace, and Purpose at Work

Amanda Quinn 0:00
Milan and I are squatting and we're very worried that we're about to get kicked out. We are in an undisclosed room at are really Harris in Las Vegas.

Milan Batinich 0:08
We're in Harris.

Amanda Quinn 0:10
Yeah. We're in a room. We're in the only unlocked room. So good part is this isn't live, so people from Harris can't be watching and be like, go shake every doorknob and see which ones unlocked.

Milan Batinich 0:21
Perseverance pays off. Yeah. If you try on enough doors, eventually you may find one that will open and you can arrange a podcast studio in such room.

Amanda Quinn 0:35
Welcome to Build a Better BPO, the podcast where we help business process outsourcers break free from the one-size-fits-all approach and build stronger, more profitable businesses.

Milan Batinich 0:46
If you're a BPO leader looking to improve margins, reduce employee churn, and create long-term client relationships, you're in the right place.

Amanda Quinn 0:54
I'm Amanda Quinn, principal at Quinn Growth Advisors. I help BPOs refine their positioning, market their expertise, and move beyond the outdated labor arbitrage model.

Milan Batinich 1:03
And I'm Milan Batinich, CEO of Milan Motivates. I help BPOs and CX leaders build stronger, happier teams by improving employee engagement and retention.

Amanda Quinn 1:13
Each episode will bring you insights, strategies, and real-world examples to help you stand out in the BPO space, attract better fit clients, and build a more sustainable business.

Milan Batinich 1:25
We're cutting through the noise with actionable takeaways. No fluff, no vague theories, just proven strategies from industry experts and BPO leaders who are making it happen.

Amanda Quinn 1:34
So if you're ready to build a better BPO, let's dive in.

Amanda Quinn 1:53
So we're live here from CCW, and Milan and I are going to be talking about his favorite topic ever. JEP. What is JEP, Milan?

Milan Batinich 2:02
So JEP, it's an acronym, right? You're the smart one. All right. So it is uh joy, energy, passion, peace, and purpose. J-E-P-P-P. I being a motivational speaker and helping organizations with their employee engagement. I thought about like what are the factors that people need in their life, in their careers, in order to be happy, in order to be successful. And I'm like, well, you know, you gotta have those five characteristics or those five things and the work that you do. You don't always have them, right? There's parts of each of our jobs where we're not jepping all the time. But if you can be jepping uh for the majority of your time, then you'll be engaged. You know, I think we talked about it in another podcast. If you do uh work that you really enjoy, it energizes you. So if you're jepping in the work that you do, you'll you'll be energized.

Amanda Quinn 3:02
So I love that jep is both a noun and a verb, it seems. It is, it is. You strive to find jep and you can be jepping, as you said.

Milan Batinich 3:10
Jepping, yeah. Yeah, jep uh with a little ing or jepp in, apostrophe after the one. Cool.

Amanda Quinn 3:17
Yep. So is jep akin to flow when people say that they're in their flow zone? Yeah, yeah.

Milan Batinich 3:23
So it's very similar to flow. And I can't pronounce the guy's name that came up with flow state, but uh but yeah, so when you're working in flow, like you don't recognize that time is passing. You don't recognize uh how long you've been working on something. Like I get in my flow state uh when I'm speaking or teaching, uh when I'm putting together content around teaching, um or motivating others. I don't recognize like when I'm training at the jet, training other people, train three classes in a row, three hours in a row. I'm like, oh my god, I can't believe it's already done. Crazy because I'm in that flow state.

Amanda Quinn 3:57
How do you help people find their jep?

Milan Batinich 4:00
Asking them questions, communicating. So really it's just um number one, the each person needs to be self-aware of what it is they enjoy. And sometimes it takes people a long time. It took me a long time to figure out what I really enjoyed. Because like I was like, I'm like, do I enjoy this? Do I enjoy this? You know, uh different things like working in contact centers managing operations in contact centers. And like, I don't really enjoy it. I enjoy training people, and then you know, like um then going into sales. I'm like, well, maybe I'll try sales because I can make more money in sales at the end of the day. If I had to just sell for my whole life, like the rest of my career, no, not job in a flow state.

Amanda Quinn 4:41
So, Milan, uh, you're an executive coach. You love doing that. What is your favorite part about being an executive coach?

Milan Batinich 4:48
Oh, that's a great question. So I believe my favorite part of coaching executives is when they figure out and understand themselves intrinsically, so internally, that they understand themselves so well that they learn what type of work puts them into that flow state or makes them jep, makes them have that joy, energy, passion, peace, and purpose. I think that's my favorite part is that aha moment. Like, oh, I actually really enjoy this aspect of my job. I should focus on doing more of that versus these other things that I hate. Maybe I can delegate those tasks to somebody else that would enjoy those.

Amanda Quinn 5:28
As leaders and as, you know, just people in the world trying to navigate this thing, increasingly finding enjoyment from work is can be a struggle. Absolutely. And I feel like people get really burnt out. And so um I love what you do in terms of helping them rethink what what drives them and where they want to focus their attention and be mindful about, like you said, shifting work to to others that may enjoy it more um and do more of what keeps them excited.

Milan Batinich 6:05
I think so many people they strive to become a business leader uh within their organization or just within say business overall or within say CX, within a BPO. They there's they strive for that. Say they start as an agent or whatever it might be and they move up and they strive to be that leader because they want to either do that type of job or have those responsibilities, be able to lead other people. But then when they get there, it's like, oh, I didn't realize, you know, four hours out of every day is doing this specific task that just drains my energy because I don't enjoy doing it. So I think a lot of times people strive for their next level or their next position, that next role. And then when they get there, it's almost like, well, I didn't I don't realize I'd be getting this. Even you and I talked to somebody today that was uh or is an SVP of sales, and he's was flat out said I would never want to be a CRO because I really like hunting new uh logos and new companies. I don't want to just sit and report and do all this paperwork. I want to be face to face with clients, like you understand what it does and what he knows if you went into that hole. It would become a lot of paperwork, a lot of the FCC does have some joy.

Amanda Quinn 7:12
So helping people see that the corporate ladder is there and knowing when to take the right off ramp or like the let maybe lateral moves or stay um stay at certain rungs and be okay with that, right? Because you're finding that that's that's the ladder, that's the rung that you're supposed to be on and where you're the happiest, and that's okay.

Milan Batinich 7:33
Right. Yeah. And it may not be at the top. It may be you have potential to reach even higher, but if it's not something you're gonna enjoy, it's not worth more money or a higher level position. It's not worth any of that if you're happy in the role that you're in, if you're content in the role you're in. Because it carries over into other parts of your life when you're jepping or when you're in flow and when you're enjoying the work that you're doing. Um, and really it all comes back to or comes down to what motivates each person internally, their intrinsic motivation. So, yeah, and each human's different. What motivates you, Amanda, might be different than what motivates me. You know, some people like to be motivated by challenging uh work. Other people might want to be motivated by uh, you know, learning new information. So you strive to continually learn uh new things. So once executives or once leaders understand what motivates them internally, that it will help propel them into doing the type of work that brings them to their flow state or to their job.

Amanda Quinn 8:35
That makes sense. I can see that. How understanding what what it is, unpacking kind of within their day-to-day, these are the types of things that I really enjoy, and how can I add more of that to my plate and less of the stuff that drains me. Because we've all been in those roles where the your so to speak, your your plate, your workload is misbalanced, and you're doing more of the stuff that you hate and how like heavy you feel, and how much you dread waking up in the morning, and you're like every email you get, you're like, God, I don't want to respond to this thing. Like, I this I can't wait to get out of here. I can't wait to unplug my computer at the end of the day.

Milan Batinich 9:17
We can make this NSFW, it's okay.

Amanda Quinn 9:20
Yeah. And even just this morning, like when we were talking about going around on the floor, like you are in your you are jepping when you're on a trade show floor and you get a handshake, everybody.

Milan Batinich 9:31
Especially if they know me.

Milan Batinich 9:34
It's my high extroversion. I just want to be liked. I want to look at it. So yeah. So when people are like high-fiving me and they're like, hey, Milan, or somebody today, hi Mylan. I'm like, yeah, you've known me for years.

Milan Batinich 9:54
Oh, like I think they had three out of five letters, so they passed. Okay, let's give them a mug.

Amanda Quinn 9:59
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I guess uh the counter of us. So we're more extroverted. We more like like for me, I realize the flow. Like, I very much enjoy connecting people more than I ever really realized. And I want to be helpful. So those two things are. That's true. That's true, yeah. But like I want to, I want to hear somebody, I want to find out like what are you struggling with? And then I like go into my brain, I'm like, okay, who can I connect you with that I think would be able to help you with that problem? And like that's my favorite thing, being like, Oh, you gotta go talk to those guys over there.

Milan Batinich 10:36
Folks, I witnessed it today. I introduced Amanda to somebody, and he told Amanda he's looking for a job, and she's like, I need to introduce you to these people over here, and boom, they're hopefully we make it happen. I love it.

Amanda Quinn 10:49
Yeah, but it's but if somebody's the uh motivated different correct the trade show floor is probably their version of it.

Milan Batinich 10:54
Oh, it's exhausting. So I used to work with somebody where she would enjoy it, but like um, so say we're on the trade show floor exhibiting from I don't know, nine to four thirty, and then we have a dinner at seven. Nine to four thirty, I would have to like go hit the gym, I would have to continue to talk to people, walk around the uh casino, the hotel, because I'm like, I am juiced.

Amanda Quinn 11:15
You mean after 430?

Milan Batinich 11:16
Yeah, after 4:30, before say the dinner. Yeah. She her, on the other hand, is uh more introverted. So she can put on, you know, the show during the show. But then she would go take a nap before dinner. Where I'm like, let's go, like, what are we gonna do? Who wants to hang out? Like, let's keep the momentum going. And she'd be like, I'll see you in a couple hours, I'm gonna take a nap because her battery gets drained. And it's the same, like for me, if I'm doing a lot of paperwork, if I'm on an RFP, that drains me. And I get tired because I'm not doing what I love to do, you know? So, and for her, when she's around so many people, it drains her battery. She can do it, do the work, but after so much time, she's gonna do it like every day.

Milan Batinich 11:58
Somebody told me we want to hire you, we want you to go to Twitter five days a week and just walk the floor and stuff, it's moose people, I'd be like, Oh my god. She'd probably last what, two weeks in that job before she's looking for some other job. Exactly. Instead of napping, she'd be applying on indeed.

Amanda Quinn 12:12
Yeah, yeah. So tactically, if somebody is trying to figure out what their motivations are or what gives them um JEP, like what would you recommend? Just kind of keeping a diary of what's there.

Milan Batinich 12:25
Yeah, diary journal, yeah, definitely. Um, figuring out, like, okay, so say like weekly or daily, even like today, I really enjoy doing this task or this activity, or I really enjoyed this conversation. And here's the reasons why I enjoyed this conversation with this person. Maybe there's something within the conversation. Maybe that person helped solve their problem and they really enjoyed doing that. It's like, okay, so how can I do that more often? How can I integrate that into my career more? Is it in this role or a different role? And um, and yeah, just figuring out what do I not enjoy, what do I enjoy, and then kind of running through that, and then they'll be able to identify maybe not a specific job title, but they'll be able to identify everything I do, eight to ten hours a day, five days a week, after maybe a month, look at it. And it's like, well, I really, really, really enjoy doing all of these things, and I really dislike these things that are involved with my job. I I coached uh um uh CEO of a BPO uh a couple years ago where he's like, I love selling, I hate being a CEO. So he's like, I'm thinking of selling my business, I don't know what to do. Um and ultimately he had a business partner that was a great fit for all of the CEO tasks. So that business partner took over as CEO and he moved over as like a CRO. Because he's like, I love the set sell, I hate all the CEO, like taxes, insurance, all of that stuff, you know, figuring that out. And so he made lists and figured out like what do I like more and then made the transition.

Amanda Quinn 13:56
Yeah, I can see that how having that complement, like that someone that's almost your they always say that you want your your partner to be like very complementary of you. And I can see how if you have someone that their way where they find JEP is the opposite. Like maybe they're very tactical in that case. So, you know, if the CEO really likes the the consumer facing the, you know, the client facing stuff in the hunt, if someone else is like, I don't want to do the hunt, I want to just be able to check the boxes and get through my to-do list and feel really accomplished in doing so. Like that seems like a very natural fit from a partnership perspective. Definitely.

Milan Batinich 14:31
Yeah, and as far as I know, that's been I think he made the shift in 2023. So it's been a couple years, and he's just loving it. And and when individuals are doing those that type of work that they really enjoy, the list of things that they journaled and found that they really enjoy, that's where then they're become full of joy in the work that they do because they're enjoying it, they're happier. Um, they're gonna be full of energy, like their energy is gonna shoot through the roof because they're doing work that is a natural fit for who they are. So when that happens, you're automatically energized. Opposite is true as well. If you're doing work that isn't a natural fit for who you are, your energy gets drained. Um, and you know, doing something that you're passionate about. And executives have asked me, well, what if I'm passionate about multiple things? And like we're humans, I think every human is passionate about multiple things. Yeah. I don't think anybody's just passionate about one thing. It'd be very boring dinner. It would be, right? Yeah. Um and then when you're doing that type of work then that you're enjoying and that's energizing you that you're passionate about, there's a piece. You don't have like Sunday blues where you're dreading going to work Monday morning.

Amanda Quinn 15:35
And I can imagine that when you're keeping that list of all the tasks that you're doing, the ones obviously that you're really drawn to, like that task list that you're like, I really want to, I'm excited to tackle these things and the ones that you dread. Like I feel like that's probably a pretty easy way to get start getting the sense of where you find joy and where you don't.

Milan Batinich 15:56
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. And and I always recommend to leaders to tackle uh what's that book? Eat Eat the Frog, I think. Um, but to tackle the things you dread first or the most difficult things. Like first thing in the morning, just get it done. Because otherwise you're just gonna be dreading it all day. You'll go through and do all the things you're excited and looking forward to accomplishing for the day. And then three o'clock rolls around, four o'clock rolls around, and you're like, oh, okay, fine, I'll do the stuff I dread now from my last hour. It's like, well, no, do that at the beginning of the day.

Amanda Quinn 16:25
All right, I feel like that was a therapy session for me because I definitely do that. I guess people do that too.

Milan Batinich 16:38
Yeah, yeah. You just keep kicking the can down the road, just get it over with. First thing. Or see if you can delegate it.

Amanda Quinn 16:44
Well, obviously, that would be ideal if you can find somebody that wants to take it out in it. So, Milan, let's say somebody has figured out the the parts of their work that they like, they figured out the stuff that they don't like, and they're trying to be more conscious about how do I do more of the stuff I like and uh where I'm jepping. What where do they go from there?

Milan Batinich 17:05
Well, number one, I'm very excited for them and happy for them because you know what? It just hit me. It all ties back to authenticity, right? Because then they're being their authentic self. Um, which that could be a whole nother podcast. But yeah, it just pops in my head. Um so where they go from there is communicating with those around them at work. If they figure out, like, hey, certain tasks I don't enjoy, but other this other person might, having that conversation with that person, whether they're like peers or they report to them, or even having the conversation if they need to manage up, but they need to have that conversation with their superior. Uh, but it's all about communication, it's all about having those conversations.

Amanda Quinn 17:47
And what what's the hope of the conversations? What's the goal?

Milan Batinich 17:50
That they'll be able to put more on their plates of things they enjoy and take more off their plates of things that they don't enjoy doing.

Amanda Quinn 17:58
Okay. So just letting others know this is the type of work, please funnel this stuff to me. And I don't like doing this. So if you like it, I'm happy to let you take it. Pretty much, but a little bit more eloquent, yeah. A little bit more formal.

Milan Batinich 18:11
You mean not football speak? I would take it. I'd take the balls. Yeah, exactly. And and then also, you know, if they figure out that maybe the job as a whole, or maybe the organizational culture, or maybe they're superior, or whatever it is, you know, when we talk about employee engagement, the four forces of disengagement are poor job fit, manager fit, team dynamic fit, and organizational culture are the four like components, the pillars of disengagement. So if they realize, hey, maybe this isn't the right company for me, or maybe this whole job isn't the right job for me. Or the manager doesn't isn't gonna let me do less of that stuff. Right, because it's a big part of my job. Yeah. Then maybe it's coming to the realization of well, what type of job do I need to look for that would be a good fit for the things that I enjoy versus just staying in a job that they hate for the next 10, 20, 30, 40 years. You know, I think a lot of people do that instead. Nobody wants to do that.

Amanda Quinn 19:13
No, no. And maybe I guess at that point it's worth, you know, since we are whole people, right? And our work lives aren't everything that um dictates how happy we are. You can look to explore what gives you joy and energy and passion and peace and purpose um for your extracurricular kind of things, you know. We can incorporate more of the things that we we really like and that motivate us in our work, our lives outside of work, and try to fill our bucket that way. If for financial reasons or personal reasons or you know, professional reasons, like we have to stay in our current role, um, or there isn't, or we know there isn't good alignment. Is that makes sense?

Milan Batinich 19:58
You're giving me a therapy session. Let's go. Yeah. And I think a lot of people that I've talked to, maybe 90% of their job they dislike 90% or 80% or whatever it is. And but they don't want to look for a new job or change jobs because they're afraid of what people will say, people will think, what their manager will think, things like that.

Amanda Quinn 20:16
Oh, that's so sad. Please don't do that. Uh life is too short, and everyone deserves to be happy. And you, you listener, also deserve to be happy. And I encourage you to chase whatever it is that that you find joy. And eventually you'll make money from it. Where do where do people take it from here?

Milan Batinich 20:30
Uh so I think if they want to get in touch with me, they can direct message me on LinkedIn and call, text, whatever. Um, they can go to Milan Motivates.com, learn more. Yeah. If uh if people just want to have a conversation around like even that initial figuring out.

Amanda Quinn 20:48
So if someone wants to have a conversation to help them uncover where they should go and kind of do some of that executive coaching, you're here for them.

Milan Batinich 20:55
Yes, absolutely. Love to love to help people. That's why I do what I do.

Amanda Quinn 20:58
Awesome. Well, thank you, Milan. Appreciate you sharing as always. I love these face to face podcasts.

Amanda Quinn 21:04
Yes, it is nice to see you in person and not just virtually.

Milan Batinich 21:07
Yeah.

Amanda Quinn 21:08
Across the country.

Milan Batinich 21:08
Yes. Yes.

Amanda Quinn 21:09
Thanks everyone for tuning in. We'll catch you in a couple weeks.