Meaningfulness

One of the ironies of our society is that when we actually generate wealth and time to spare, we can lose our direction.?

In the quest for achieving more and working less we can be left feeling unfulfilled.

Even in having “gainful employment” we can become bored, failing to see a purpose, that we have experienced a rejection of our moral principles and then a belief that life is meaningless.

Feelings of meaningless can lead someone to the conclusion that they are useless and from this can come a slide into depression and eventual suicide.

Not to put too fine a point on it, this has become a reality for many people in our society over the past 50 years, during an unprecedented rise in possession, wealth and freedom.? It’s a phenomenon for the individual Us, and the parent / leader / friend Us.

In business, the identification of a cause (or a goal, or a task) and then the struggle to get there is our purpose—the reason that any and every?business exists.? By making something or providing a service, the business generates, hopefully, a satisfactory return on capital invested, which may be measured by net profit.?It is what I think of as the?logical?purpose of the business.

However, the investors’ capital growth aspirations, the logic, will not deliver the loyalty of customers.? Neither will it inspire staff.

Customers will be attracted by value for money, quality and timeliness and will stay for social responsibility and good corporate citizenship—the destination of sustainable business.?

So what to do about winning the hearts of those customers?? We show by word and action that we are truly invested in understanding their needs and will channel our efforts into satisfying or even delighting them.?

A leader’s additional challenge then is to create, articulate and relentlessly promote the emotional purpose of the business.

Staff who understand and truly believe in the emotional purpose and how their individual roles contribute, are then much more likely to make a powerful contribution to the logical purpose of the business.? Personal and business in harmony.

To understand how purpose and meaning can work in our lives and businesses, I would recommend reading Viktor Frankl—one the great figures of the second half of the 20th century.? Among the abiding atrocities of World War II were the Nazi prison camps where the Austrian doctor found himself.? After 3 years of tortuous incarceration, he wrote a gem of a book Man’s Search for Meaning, in 9 successive days.? Frankl detailed the sadism and suffering of the camps and the conclusions that he drew from his experiences as doctor and inmate.?

In all, he wrote 39 books and founded a therapeutic practice called logotherapy.? Among those books is a collection of lectures, interviews and texts from his latter years—Embracing Hope—which also has much to recommend it.

As leaders, our challenge is to create meaning for ourselves.? We need a future orientation, an understanding and quest for doing something purposeful in our lives and in our businesses, as well as giving beyond our own needs, to someone who we care for and love. And while not seeking it, an experience with suffering will also sharpen our sense of meaningfulness.?

Frankl experienced suffering in spades, but it he contends that the meaning comes from overcoming suffering by seeking to remove its cause. The experience will lead to humility and empathy.

As leaders, our further challenge is to inspire meaning for those who we seek to lead.? We will be clear in articulating our values and our expectations for people’s congruent behaviours (as well as modelling them ourselves). We will show the purpose of the business and inspire an identification and devotion to this cause among those who work there.? We will not be seeking to establish the usefulness of people, but rather their unconditional value as human beings who would be led by us.

Meaningfulness is highly personal to each person in the context of their own work, family and stage of life.? It is about doing something, experiencing something, loving someone—and as Frankl says, tapping…

…the defiant power of the human spirit.

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Next week:? Craig Musson, Vertically Challenged & BOLA

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About the Author

Jeff Bell?is Principal of executive consultancy ResultsWise in Perth, WA.?To boost your leadership, ask Jeff about Band of Leaders Australia (BOLA) [email protected] and his consulting, coaching and strategy facilitation, or his Advanced Leadership Course [email protected]. Mobile 0439 988 662.