Page 42 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE CASE FOR MEANING

in addictive behaviors. These responses are expensive and
time consuming for employers and society. They can insti-
gate vicious cycles of despair, withdrawal, and breakdowns
in personal meaning and purpose.
And there is something organizational leaders—not just
politicians, psychologists, parents, or priests—can and must
do about it.

Leaders Who Focus on Meaning
Create an Abundant Response

A crisis is a terrible thing to waste. Fortunately, when crises
stop us in our tracks they may also make us stop and think,
and thinking can be the start of creating meaning at work
and elsewhere. Crises can shock us into facing the questions
we often sidestep: “Who am I? What am I trying to accom-
plish? What really makes me happy? What do I believe?
What is my purpose? What matters most?” As leaders probe
the whys of work, they empower employees to find personal
meaning that creates value for customers, investors, and
communities.
Abundance implies plenty: enough and to spare, fullness
that overflows. If we focus attention on what we stand to gain
from our crises, not just what we stand to lose, abundance
thinking can replace deficit thinking even when deficits
are the rule of the day. Abundance looks to future opportu-
nity more than past disappointments, promotes hope over
despair, suggests change for the future rather than languish-
ing in the past, and fosters the creation of new meaning
where old meanings have broken down. Abundance does
not imply that things come easily or quickly but that we

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