Page 276 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE WHY OF WORK

only what is happening but also how they feel about it, when
they face difficult issues head-on, and when they connect
the creating of meaning to the making of money, they legiti-
mate employee efforts to attend to and discover meaning at
work. Leaders who share positive affect have positive effect.
Senior leaders personalize meaning and spread it around
by sharing their aspirations and helping others do the same.
A new president of a large state university began his first
senior management retreat by asking everyone to tell a story
about why he or she worked there. People talked about how
education had enriched their personal lives, how their par-
ents had sacrificed to provide them with schooling, how
education had helped their children or siblings pro gress
and contribute, or how they felt when they personally expe-
rienced students’ learning and growth. These touching
personal stories captured the shared identity and purpose of
the university, reminding leaders why they did the work they
did. The stories formed a foundation of meaning and shared
vision that lent legitimacy and urgency to subsequent discus-
sions of budget, curriculum, procedures, and staffing. When
senior executives share how they feel about their work, they
build a foundation of meaning that grounds their organiza-
tional efforts.
Communicating and personalizing meaning is not
enough. Senior executives must help their organization turn
aspirations into actions to sustain that meaning foundation.
If the organization’s values and goals are lauded but not
materialized, meaning dissipates quickly.
Senior leaders need not only advocate and institutionalize
meaning but also audit it. In addition to financial, customer,
and organization reviews, leaders might ask questions such
as these:

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