Page 121 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE WHY OF WORK

• • Which are the most pressing motivations of this
organization, and where do they fall among the four
quadrants of insight, achievement, connection, and
empowerment? Which of the four quadrants will we
excel at, and where will we satisfice?

It is easy to lose track of our primary motivations and
where we are going in the rush of work, the complexity of
the world, or the press of adversity. But when we start won-
dering what the point of all our labor is, remembering the
whys that delineate our destinations helps us put up with the
hows. In the words of Viktor Frankl:

It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what
life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning
of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being
questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not
in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life
ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to
its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each
individual.

Summary: Leadership Actions to Articulate a Purpose
• • Help employees recognize what motivates them (insight,
achievement, connection, empowerment).
• • Match the employees’ motivation with the organization
task they are assigned to perform.
• • Create an organization aspiration that declares a socially
responsible agenda and translates that agenda to indi-
vidual action.
• • Help employees satisfice in those tasks that are worth
doing poorly and prioritize tasks that are important to do
well.
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