A511.6.4.RB - A reflection on “Getting Beyond Engagement to Creating Meaning at Work

For this leadership analysis, the question of the day is what it means when we say that leaders must create a “cause” or "meaning."  Without a doubt past and present leaders have lead followers throughout times of struggle.  The article mentions that even when environmental situations seem degrading and dangerous, people still persevere when there is good solid leadership leading them.  But how does leadership connect with followers to give them that sense of cause or meaning.  For example, I can think of biblical heroes such as Moses who had to lead the Hebrews through many difficult situations, the Egyptian soldiers, the Sinai Desert, a lack of food and even those that questioned him and the journey they were on. Other examples that come to mind to support this article include the story of the heroic king, Leonidas of Sparta and how he led 300 of his finest soldiers to battle a heavily favored Persian conqueror, although the story has been modified for effect, there is no doubt that the followers believed in a cause, knowing their odds of their survival.  Even recently, Dr. Martin Luther Kings has been seen as a leader who was able to get people to find meaning in something they believed in.  The one thing all these leaders had in common is that they were agents of change; whether it was being forced upon them or if they were the ones instigating it.  This process of change was not a challenge for them because they had a vision of what needed to be done and the benefits.  The challenge was the followers and how to get them to adopt the same cause.  What we must keep in mind is than Dr. King did not say I have a plan for change, he stated repeatedly that he had a dream, something everyone can believe in.  

 Author Gary Yukl explained how in today’s business word we refer to this meaning in different ways such as Vision.  Vision can be broken done into numerous characteristics such as value statement, slogans, strategic mission objectives, mission vision, and even organizational core values.   From a personal perspective, I do not feel that just the title leader will automatically assist in instilling meaning of work to followers.  For me, the leader that fills this role must definitely be either very charismatic or have a strong understanding of how to apply the transformational leadership process.  This organizational leadership “meaning” cannot be forced upon individuals. They have to want to believe in it and believe it will benefit them either now or in the future.  As mentioned in the video clip by Ken Blanchard company associate Pat Zigarmi, Ed.D, people will always ask, WIIFM (what’s in it for me?).  This is probably the hardest sell for any leader.  I myself have been on both side of the coin as the employee who question why we were doing something and the person in the leadership position trying to answer "why" questions in a clear and concise manner.  The authors mention seven drivers of meaning that leaders can adopt to help employees find meaning at work.  Of the seven statements mentioned, the one that stands out the most to me is number 5; help people identify and work at the types of challenges that line up with their personal experience of engagement or flow.  I feel when you can combine personal experiences, identity of task and engagement by all, overcoming change to find that meaning becomes an easier task to achieve.