Page 189 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE WHY OF WORK

give her much sense of meaning. She soon left. Kathleen
and Leslie have very different orientations toward work and
would each hate the other’s ideal job. One prefers more
routine and structured tasks, the other more creativity and
flexibility. Each finds more abundance at work when her
leaders recognize and respond to her individual preferences
in four key areas—what, where, how, and when.

Work Condition 1: What Work Do I Prefer Doing?

Work can be categorized along three dimensions: intellec-
tual, physical, and relational.
Intellectual work focuses on making knowledge pro-
ductive. Knowledge workers analyze problems, discover
alternatives, shape thinking, and create innovative solutions.
Words and ideas become the basic elements of work that can
be shaped and molded to change how people think and act.
Employees who like intellectual work enjoy debates about
how to shape problems and discover interesting solutions.
Leslie enjoyed the pursuit of ideas, and demonstrating good
use of words and insights would differentiate her as a high-
performing employee in such fields. Leaders may discover
their employees’ predisposition to intellectual work by prob-
ing how they think about complex problems, assigning them
to present verbal or written recommendations, or engaging
them in a dialogue about how to assess and improve work
processes. Intellectual work results in intangible outcomes
that may not always be seen or measured easily.
Physical work emphasizes tangible results that are visible
and traceable. Physical work emphasizes concrete, touch-
able results. Physical work might include figuring out what
materials to use in a design, making mock-ups, and seeing
products through the manufacturing and sales process. It

168