Page 63 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE WHY OF WORK

Leaders in abundant organizations take employee com-
petence and commitment another step—to employee
contribution. Contribution focuses not just on activity but
on the meaningfulness of the activity. For example, a teen-
ager may be highly competent at video games (he wins them
often), have a high commitment to video games (shown by
playing them for hours at a time), but still not find real pur-
pose and meaning in game playing. An employee may be
competent (able to do the work) and committed (willing to
work hard), but not have the sense of abundance that comes
from also making a contribution to a greater good.

PRINCIPLE 5
Abundance occurs when companies can engage not only
employees’ skills (competence) and loyalty (commitment) but
also their values (contribution).

6. How Do I Respond to Disposability and Change?
(Growth, Learning, and Resilience)

Abundance acknowledges that failure can be a powerful
impetus to growth and learning. When we face change and
take risks to work outside our comfort zone, resist defensive-
ness about mistakes, learn from failure, and keep trying,
we become not only more resilient but also more satisfied
with life. McKell and his team knew that as they tried to
implement their new organization identity and purpose they
would make mistakes. Instead of hiding from and finding
someone to blame for mistakes, they committed to facing
and learning from them.
Chapter 8 reviews how leaders can encourage learning
and resilience. Abundance is less about getting things right

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