A511.6.3.RB_Meaning

  A511.6.3RB – Meaning 

MSLD 511: Decision Making For Leaders 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Worldwide: Online Campus

November 27, 2015

         

Meaning  

reflect on what you have read

Each person faces the same questions in his or her lifetime. Why am I doing this? How do I find meaning? 

Often simple life questions result in some of the most profound answers, which typically are not as simple sounding as the question itself. For example, when one has worked in the same position for years, what is the motivator for that person to show up to work on a daily basis with a positive, work-focused attitude?  “According to the research of Dr. Anders Ericsson, it is motivation, which is the most significant predictor of success (Taylor, 2012).”

Receipt of a paycheck cannot be the singular way to motivate. Maybe motivators are interpersonal relationships between co-workers, the social exchange between customers and technicians, or perhaps it is the feeling of stability and loyalty. It is doubtful that these opportunities and benefits alone can provide sustaining motivation to rally oneself professionally on a daily basis.

what does it mean when we say that leaders must create a “cause” or "meaning" 

“Meaning is not a dropped coin we pick up by chance. It is more like fine pottery we craft. People have to create the meaning of their work and their lives, and that process requires skill and practice, not just luck. Those who succeed at creating meaning, tend to work harder, more creatively, and with more tenacity, giving the companies that employ them a leg up in the marketplace. When employees experience meaning, their employers enjoy higher rates of customer commitment and investor interest. Meaning resonates with chosen values, connects them with people they like, raises their sense of competence, or gives them an “ah-ha” moment of insight. The ability to create meaning is also enhanced by challenge, emotional safety, autonomy, and learning from experienced meaning-makers (Ullrich, 2010)." This explanation validates the importance of investing in the creation and maintenance of an environment where staff members find meaning in their workplace contributions.

There are seven drivers of meaning that leaders can leverage in the following ways:

• Help employees identify and creatively use the strengths, traits, and values (like integrity, leadership, love of learning, kindness, etc.) with which they most identify.
• Match the purposes (insight, achievement, connection, or empowerment) that motivate employees to the jobs they do.
• Foster friendships and key relationship-building skills 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 of engagement or flow.
• Build in time for both individual and corporate-level self-reflection to help people discover lessons from setbacks and develop the resilience to get in front of the pace of change.
• Encourage civility and delight from little things that personalize and civilize the world of work (e.g. time to chat, friendly competitions, pictures, and humor).

Relate this to the theory of leading change

But what happens when an organization needs to adapt to changing needs? How does the leader navigate the changes and keep motivation and meaning alive for employees?

I think the “best strategy to use together in a mutually supportive way is the attitude-centered approach and the role-centered approach, when a leader needs to effectively make change occur. Change is a serious, long-lasting effort and is more successful when implemented slowly. When using the attitude-centered approach, involve the employees by changing attitudes and values with persuasive appeals, training programs, team-building activities, or a culture change program (Yulk, 2013).”  Most people find change uncomfortable, as it disrupts the known and can cause negative and insecure feelings that negatively impact performance.  When change is done slowly with stakeholders who are a part of the process, trust and engagement can develop, providing the opportunity for individual meaning. The employee feels, in this scenario, a part of the community, an insider working with the team for the success of the company.

“In the role-centered approach, there are changes in the work roles by reorganizing the workflow, redesigning jobs to include different activities and responsibilities, modifying authority relationships, changing the criteria and procedures for evaluation of work and changing the reward system. The assumption is that when work roles require people to act in a different way, they will change their attitudes to be consistent with the new behavior. Effective behavior is induced by the new role requirements and reinforced by the evaluation and reward system (Yulk, 2013).”

Thoughtful and strategic preparation to create an environment for positive organizational change is prudent and necessary. Regardless of a leader’s strategy, the most important guidelines to follow while leading an organization through major change is to:

• Create a sense of urgency about the need for change
• Communicate a clear vision of the benefits to be gained
• Identify likely supporters, opponents, and reasons for resistance
• Build a broad coalition to support the change
• Fill key positions with competent change agents
• Use task forces to guide implementation of changes
• Empower competent people to help plan and implement change
• Make dramatic, symbolic changes that affect the work
• Prepare people for change by explaining how it will affect them
• Help people deal with the stress and difficulties of major change
• Provide opportunities for early successes to build confidence
• Monitor the progress of change and make any necessary adjustments
• Keep people informed about the progress of change
• Demonstrate continued optimism and commitment to the change.

“Making changes means that you will likely be putting in effort that will take you far beyond the point at which it is inspiring or fun. High motivation will ensure total preparation which will, in turn, ensure maximum performance and results. Whatever you put into your change efforts is what you will get out of them. But if you're truly motivated to change, you better make sure you're doing the work necessary to achieve your goals. Seeing your efforts pay off with the changes you want (Taylor, 2012).” In actuality, part of the strategy for successful change is to inspire and energize those who will be affected by the change, so that they will have the opportunity to feel they are contributing positively to the intended outcomes. This can be accomplished with inspirational words, challenges with positive endgame rewards, or by rallying staffers around a common cause that creates a feeling of community. When an employee feels his or her contribution provides value, the employee will feel he or she has contributed to the success of the company, thereby providing meaning for that person. 

“To Heraclitus, the philosopher who pursued Truth, was fully awake and fully alive, and he seemed to consider himself the only philosopher of his time, claiming that the world order is continual change and resistance to this change is a kind of death in that the individual is refusing to participate in that which defines life (Mark, 2010).”

References:

Mark, Joshua. (2010). Heraclitus of Ephesos. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.ancient.eu/Heraclitus_of_Ephesos/

Taylor, Jim Ph.D. (2012). Personal Growth: Motivation, The Drive to Change. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/201201/personal-growth-motivation-the-drive-change

Ulrich, Dave and Wendy. (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). Leading Change and Innovation. In Leadership in organizations. (8th ed). (pp. 82). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall