1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.
This week, we’ve been exploring ideas in Fred Kofman‘s book The Meaning Revolution. Fred believes that to be a truly successful leader, “We need to make our lives and the lives of those around us truly meaningful.”
That’s a high bar!
Indeed, leaders significantly impact the workplace culture in which we, our team, our department, and our entire company work.
2: That said, the research suggests that finding meaning in our work is, ultimately, intensely personal.
In their article “What Makes Work Meaningful — Or Meaningless” in the MIT Sloan Management Review, Catherine Bailey and Adrian Madden write about five surprising factors regarding meaningful work.
Factor #1: Self-Transcendent. People did not only focus on themselves when discussing when they found their work meaningful.
Instead, “they talked about the impact or relevance their work had for other individuals, groups, or the wider environment,” Catherine and Adrian write.
“For example, a garbage collector explained how he found his work meaningful at the ‘tipping point’ at the end of the day when refuse was sent to recycling. This was the time he could see how his work contributed to creating a clean environment for his grandchildren and for future generations.
“An academic described how she found her work meaningful when she saw her students graduate at the commencement ceremony, a tangible sign of how her own hard work had helped others succeed.”
Factor #2: Poignant. People found their work meaningful not just when they were happiest but also when they felt uncomfortable or even painful thoughts and feelings.
“People often cried in our interviews when they talked about the times when they found their work meaningful,” the authors note.
“Those moments when people found their work meaningful tended to be far richer and more challenging than times when they felt simply motivated, engaged, or happy.”
Examples include nurses who described “using their professional skills and knowledge to ease the passing of patients at the end of their lives,” Catherine and Adrian observe.
Participants in various professions found meaning when they succeeded despite challenging circumstances or solved complex problems. For example, attorneys experienced their work as meaningful when reflecting on working exceptionally hard for long periods to win a case that led to life-changing results.
“The experience of coping with these challenging conditions led to a sense of meaningfulness far greater than they would have experienced dealing with straightforward, everyday situations,” they write.
Factor #3: Episodic. The research suggests that our work is meaningful at specific moments rather than over longer, extended periods.
“For example,” the authors write, “a university professor talked of the euphoric experience of feeling ‘like a rock star’ at the end of a successful lecture. One actor we spoke to summed this feeling up well: ‘My God, I’m actually doing what I dreamt I could do; that’s kind of amazing.'”
While peak experiences like these do not continue throughout the day, they significantly impact the people who experience them. Because these moments are packed with high levels of emotion and personal relevance.
“One soldier,” Catherine and Adrian write, “described how he realized how meaningful his work was when he reflected on his quick thinking in setting off the warning sirens in a combat situation, ensuring that no one at the camp was injured in the ensuing rocket attack.
“Sales assistants talked about times when they were able to help others, such as an occasion when a customer passed out in one store and the clerk was able to support her until she regained consciousness.”
Factor #4: Reflective. “Meaningfulness was rarely experienced in the moment,” the authors write, “but rather in retrospect and on reflection when people were able to see their completed work and make connections between their achievements and a wider sense of life meaning.”
For example, an entrepreneur shared how he paused while turning out the lights after his firm’s Christmas party. Standing there, he was struck by feelings of gratitude for all that he and his team had accomplished over the prior year.
A scholar shared the pride he felt about a piece of technology he had researched many years earlier, which at the time had seemed largely meaningless. His work became meaningful to him only when the technology became an essential element for touch screens.
“The experience of meaningfulness is therefore often a thoughtful, retrospective act rather than just a spontaneous emotional response in the moment, although people may be aware of a rush of good feelings at the time,” Catherine and Adrian observe.
Indeed, in many cases, talking with the researchers was the first time they had ever shared these experiences.
Factor #5: Personal: Meaning at work is often not just about the work. It becomes meaningful in the greater context of one’s life. Especially when feelings of a job done well become intertwined with recognition and appreciation by others.
“One musician described his profound sense of meaningfulness when his father attended a performance of his for the first time,” the authors write, “and finally came to appreciate and understand the musician’s work.
“A priest was able to find a sense of meaning in her work when she could relate the harrowing personal experiences of a member of her congregation to her own life events and used that understanding to help and support her congregant at a time of personal tragedy.
“The customary dinner held to mark the end of a soldier’s service became imbued with meaning for one soldier because it was shared with family members who were there to hear her army stories.
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3: At PCI, we have incorporated the lessons of Catherine and Adrian’s work into our quarterly Career Investment Discussions.
One of the final questions we ask each associate is: “Reflect back on the past three months. Share a time when you found your work to be personally meaningful.”
By creating consistent time for reflection, we hope that all of our associates find more meaning in their work.
More next week!
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Reflection: Reflect back on the past three months. Share a time when I found my work to be personally meaningful.
Action: Journal about my answer to the question above.
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