Meaning
A
fairly famous quote usually attributed to Confucius that career counselors love
to espouse to their counselees is “do what you love and you’ll never work
another day in your life”. Though this
is sound advice for finding the career that best suits a particular
personality, it doesn’t guarantee that everybody will end up with their dream
career. In fact, when an individual picks a career based on doing what they
love, their love of that field often evaporates because it transitions from
being a passion to being what every job is – work (Scivicque, 2010). That
doesn’t mean, however, that we cannot be fulfilled by our work. Regardless of
what career is chosen, the key is not necessarily to do your job because you
love the career field. The key, rather, is to find meaning to the job that you
are doing. As leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure that those under our
charge are able to find meaning in their work in order to achieve maximum
efficiency.
Even
in what society would consider a horrible job, there are those that are able to
thrive. Imagine careers such as janitors, food service in schools, and subway
elevator operators. There are thousands of jobs that society would deem
undesirable. However, even in these careers, there are those that are not only
successful but find fulfillment. That is people they have found meaning to
their work. They don’t just understand what they are doing but why they are
doing it. “Those who succeed at creating meaning — either on their own or with
the help of their boss — tend to work harder, more creatively, and with more
tenacity, giving the companies that employ them a leg up in the marketplace”
(Ulrich & Ulrich, 2010). Meaning, however, is rarely just found through
luck. It has to be created and cultivated. That is where we, as leaders, must
succeed if we wish to affect change. Ulrich and Ulrich (2010) list the
following as ways that leaders can assist employees cultivate meaning:
·
Help
employees identify and creatively use the strengths, traits, and values with
which they most identify
·
Match
the purposes that motivate employees to the jobs they do.
·
Foster
friendships and key relationship-building to create high-performing,
high-relating teams.
·
Promote
positive work environments through attention to characteristics like humility,
selflessness, order, and openness.
·
Help
people identify and work at the types of challenges that line up with their
personal experience.
·
Build
in time for both individual and corporate-level self-reflection.
·
Encourage
civility and delight from little things that personalize and civilize the world
of work.
The only way for a leader to truly engage
those under their charge, however, is through the building of interpersonal
relationships over time (Serdukov, 2012). That does not necessarily mean that
effective leaders/managers must soften their authoritative roles but rather
must genuinely consider the humanistic elements of leadership. The key to
relating meaning is to present it to subordinates in a rational and logical
manner. “Cognitive sensemaking processes are important in conducting strategic
changes and that the company managers play a key role in this process by
providing meaningful interpretations to their organizations” (Serdukov, 2012,
p. 425). It is important to note, however, that this still does not guarantee
that a member of an organization will immediately find the meaning in their own
work. Think back to the example of a janitor. How can a leader inspire a
janitor to perform at optimum efficiency? Through the keys listed above, a
leader can really only inspire members of the team to begin to embrace the
values and vision of the organization. Through that, all functions begin to
take on meaning because they are work toward the same goals. Whether the
function of a team member is facility cleanliness or manufacturing, a leader is
responsible for helping subordinates see how their functions fit in with the
bigger picture.
Since
change-oriented behavior is primarily concerned with understanding and adapting
to the environment (Yukl, 2013), it is of particular importance for leaders to
ensure that those in their organization all have embraced a sense of meaning. Members
of the organization must understand why the changes are occurring if they are
embrace leadership’s vision for the organization. As leaders, it is our job to
first ensure that our mission does have meaning and then ensure that our
subordinates understand the value of their individual roles within the
organization and how every function, no matter how small, is valued.
References
Communication competence improves
organizational effectiveness: How communicative leaders influence employee attitudes, well-being and performance. (2014).
Strategic Direction, 30(8), 28-31.
doi:10.1108/SD-08-2014-0097
Scivicque, C. (2010, September 21). Bad
Career Advice: Do What You Love and You'll Never Work a Day. Forbes.
Serdukov, S. (2012). From the chaos of
transition economy to "normalized" managerial practices: The role of group interaction in creating meaning in
managerial work. Journal for
East European Management Studies, 17(4), 423-444.
Ulrich, D., & Ulrich, W. (2010).
Getting Beyond Engagement to Creating Meaning at Work. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2010/06/getting-beyond- engagement-to-c
Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in
Organizations (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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