Page 269 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

IMPLICATIONS FOR EXECUTIVES, HUMAN RESOURCES, AND INDIVIDUALS

that she liked all the downtime when she could catch up
on her favorite TV shows. A second, older woman who had
apparently been there much longer was busy processing our
rental documents, overheard our question, and volunteered
her answers: she really liked chatting with customers, adding
that she learned a lot from people she talked with. When
Dave asked her if she had a bigger car available that might fit
him better, she thought carefully about the available options
and made a good recommendation; redid the paperwork
without a grumble; gave us quick, accurate directions to the
small, distant town we were headed to; and gave us clear,
intuitive instructions for finding our car.
Working at a rental car kiosk is not exactly a job fraught
with meaning, nor did the younger employee seem to need
a compelling vision or challenging growth opportunity to
get her to show up for work that day. She was content with
a paycheck and the chance to watch TV. The question is,
will she last? Will she attract and retain long-term custom-
ers? Will the agency’s investment in training her pay off in
their bottom line? Our guess would be that unless she can
find more meaning in her work—as her more seasoned col-
league seemed to have done—she will neither endure long
nor contribute significantly to the company’s success. Nor
will it have much impact on hers.
Organizations face different challenges around meaning.
Leaders of start-ups may put their stake in the ground pre-
cisely because they are hungry to fill a niche they care about
and invest it with their passion and energy. They have plenty
of meaning, but they need to find ways to communicate that
meaning to stakeholders and support it with sound business
practices. Leaders in established companies with proven track
records and ingrained business practices may struggle more

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