deeper meaning of their work:
•
O
thers. A leader must create condi-
tions for connecting meaningfully with
others within and outside of their orga-
nization. We advise leaders to ask:
How
can I as a leader help everyone connect in
deeper, more authentic ways so that they
can find meaning in and benefit from these
connections?
True teamwork and cus-
tomer engagement must begin with a
discussion about meaning.
•
P
urpose. A leader must create the
conditions for engaging with deeper
purpose. We advise leaders to ask this
question:
How can I as a leader help
everyone engage with the deeper purpose of
their/our work so that they understand and
can align their contributions to and find
meaning in this deeper purpose?
To make
a difference in the lives of others, both
individuals and groups must begin
with a discussion about meaning.
•
A
ttitude. A leader must create the
conditions for embracing life and work
with
Attitude
. We advise leaders to ask
this question:
How can I as a leader help
everyone embrace the ups and downs, the
highs and lows of our work so that they can
continue to be engaged, resilient, and con-
nect with the deeper meaning of the work?
OPA
—
O
thers,
P
urpose,
A
ttitude—
simple to understand and remember.
The Core of Meaning
When people lack meaning in their
work, they
become disengaged
,
lose their
passion
, and
stop offering new ideas
, ulti-
mately leading to lost productivity and
harming the group or organization. If
people can connect with the deeper
meaning of their work, they have the
opportunity to be more fully engaged
and contribute to the group or organi-
zation reaching its highest potential.
Why do we do what we do?
This is the
key question to finding the meaning of
and
in our work. When we
connect
with
Leading from Meaning
M
UCH HAS BEEN SAID
about the glob-
al
financial crisis
, but the real cri-
sis behind this crisis is the
crisis of
meaning
that affects
all aspects
of our
lives. We’ve lost the
authentic connection
with others—and the ability to engage
with the deeper purpose of our lives
and embrace life with energy and joy.
We encounter many people who
feel that
something is missing
both in
their personal and work lives. They tell
us they are
stressed
at work, unsure of
how they fit into the organization’s
purpose, and are irritated by their co-
workers’ lack of empathy and trust.
They feel disconnected and disen-
gaged. The relentless pursuit of money
and power has left them feeling empty,
feeling that their work is a joyless
undertaking—much like that experi-
enced by the Greek hero Sisyphus,
who was ordered by the gods to push
a big rock uphill only to see it slip out
of his hands in the last moment and
roll down the hill once more.
The good news is that this
Crisis of
Meaning
has forced us to reassess our
lives and our priorities and ask:
How
can our work be more meaningful?
This
question gets us back to the core of our
work and to the
core of meaning
.
Leadership and Meaning
The key role of leadership is to
help
people connect with the deeper meaning in
their work
. Yes, leadership is about set-
ting the direction, encouraging ideas,
allocating resources, rewarding perfor-
mance and taking corrective action, but
the
essence
of leadership is to tap into
the deeper meaning of what each team
member is asked to contribute.
Authentic leadership is about creat-
ing conditions that enable the search for
meaning
. Such leadership can be acti-
vated and achieved by working
The
OPA! Way
. The word
OPA
stems from
Greek and is our acronym for
three
essential conditions
that leaders must
create to help people connect with the
the
Core of Meaning
, we see
many benefits
:
•
Engagement and resilience.
In our
interconnected world, we understand
why
we do what we do and, from there,
understand how everyone can work
together to further this cause. This helps
everyone find the meaning of their work
within the context of the meaning of
the organization and how it is serving
the greater community. For example,
Patagonia
the outdoor clothing and
gear company is focused on building
the best products, causing no harm,
using business to inspire and imple-
ment solutions to the environmental
cause. Everyone understands the mean-
ing of the organization and thus can
find meaning in their work. When
tough times arise, employees can also
remind themselves of the greater mean-
ing of their work and thus
build resilience
.
•
Wellbeing and health.
Our work
requires energy, and change and inno-
vation initiatives require even more
energy. When we identify the meaning
of our work, we can increase the energy
we have at our disposal, be less vulner-
able to stress, and thereby enhance our
own wellbeing and health.
•
Performance and innovation.
High
performance and innovation cannot
exist unless the leader creates the con-
ditions for people to connect with the
deeper meaning of the work and how
the work can create a positive differ-
ence for the world through improving
the lives of others. This
meaning-centered
approach
is the focus of our work.
Organizations with this focus include
Apple
whose meaning is centered on
helping others explore and express creativity
,
and
Vancity
, a large credit union
focused on community leadership and
contributing to their members’ and
employees’ wellbeing, social and envi-
ronmental stability, reinforced by their
aspirational slogan “
make good money
.”
Many organizations are undergoing
transformations that are humanizing
the workforce and focusing on the
deeper meaning of the work.
Every
organization is a dynamic, social process,
not a static org chart or structure.
Great
leaders understand the human side of
work and why meaning must be the
foundation for the enterprise. Leaders
must first tap into the deeper meaning
of their work and create conditions for
others to do the same. They must lead
with
and
to
meaning. It’s time to lead
from the
Core of Meaning
and help oth-
ers find
meaning
in their work. OPA!
LE
Elaine Dundon (author of
The Seeds of Innovation
) and Alex
Pattakos (author of
Prisoners of Our Thoughts
) are founders of
The OPA! Way
and the OPA! Center. Visit
ACTION: Lead people and teams from meaning.
L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e
M a r c h 2 0 1 2
1 9
LEADERSHIP
MEANING
Au t h e n t i c l e ad e r s c r e a t e t h e r i gh t c ond i t i on s .
by Elaine Dundon and Alex Pattakos
