Page 14 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

PREFACE

studied different aspects of how meaning and personal well-
being are defined, experienced, and developed.
In the spirit of taxonomy, we culled our experience, our
conversations, and the theory and research that informed our
work and identified seven disciplines, each of which looks at
meaning making through a slightly different lens: positive
psychology, social responsibility, marriage and interpersonal
relationships (including high-performing teams), employee
engagement, culture and positive work environment, growth
and learning, and happiness. The ideas and research from
each of these disciplines contribute to the model driving this
book: seven drivers, questions, and tool sets that leaders may
use to build meaning, in turn creating a strong organiza-
tional purpose and identity that create value for customers,
investors, and employees alike.
Two caveats are in order. First, we know we have not
done justice to any of the disciplines we synthesize. Volumes
of theory and research discuss positive psychology, social
responsibility, marriage and interpersonal relationships
(including high-performing teams), employee engagement,
culture and positive work environment, growth and learn-
ing, and happiness. We have tried to pare down these vast
literatures into a set of manageable tasks for leaders who want
to help employees find meaning in their professional lives.
Second, we realize we are writing about very personal issues
within a professional setting. Consistent with that agenda,
we have used a lot of personal stories to illustrate how to
define and determine meaning. By personalizing meaning,
we hope we can capture why and how leaders make mean-
ing happen, build abundant organizations, and deliver value
to stakeholders.

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