In Search of Meaning | Accelerate Success with Lorraine Moore

Meaningful activities become increasingly important once we have sufficient financial means to cover our expenses and live comfortably. This human need has become even more dominant with the pervasiveness of social media and the trend to greater prosperity in developed countries.

Consider Anna Wiener’s comment in The Atlantic:

“At 31, I’ve spent a significant portion of my life in front of computers. A beige, boxy Macintosh Classic featured prominently in my childhood; I learned how to manipulate a mouse before I learned how to read. From a young age, I took the internet for granted. Still, the time I spend online has never struck me as worthy of documentation. Instead, I consider it time not just wasted but lost, a regrettable, years-long black hole.”

The need for meaning in our lives explains why Justin Bieber and others are drawn to the popular evangelical pastors and celebrities in California

If we are fortunate, our work provides meaning and fulfills a sense of purpose. Physicians, first responders, nurses, social workers and psychologists are often attracted to their professions for the inherent opportunities to make a contribution. Business owners and entrepreneurs thrive on the direct alignment between their actions and the tangible results, in spite of the accompanying unpredictability and risks.

When you lead people, whether as a CEO, an executive or a team leader, one of your responsibilities is to create a sense of purpose for your enterprise. If you are running a retail business, it is quite straightforward. Create a line of sight from the work that is conducted by your employees directly to the benefits to consumers.

Identify how your customers are better off. It is not simply about the product or service but the feelings that product or service generate. This can include well-being, safety, security, joy, physical comfort, etc.

Consider the most popular advertisements; they are not selling beer or barbeques but rather a vibrant social life surrounded by good-looking people having more fun than you are. Financial services commercials are not selling financial planning solutions, they are claiming that their services will give you carefree wealth so you can spend your time on ski hills with other fit boomers or travelling Europe or the Caribbean on well-appointed cruise ships.

For your team, define why what they do everyday matters. How are they improving the lives of others?

If you are running a B2C business, creating the line of sight for your employees may first appear to be a more difficult exercise. It is not. Every corporate or business client is also a retail consumer in other parts of their lives. They make buying decisions from logic and emotion. Define how the work of your firm and the tasks performed by your teams matter to those they serve.

I worked for a bank for over 20 years and always felt a direct and immediate connection between the work that I did and the customers who were better off. The executive leadership at the bank created and sustained the sense of purpose that many others and I were, often unconsciously, seeking. In later corporate roles, I no longer felt that connection and it was one of the main reasons I started my own business.

If you are a leader, recognize the tremendous influence you will have by creating meaning for your employees. When leaders do this well, the benefits are multi-fold. Your employees are more engaged and perform better. Your customers and shareholders benefit. The financial worth of your company increases. You are at less risk of internal fraud.

As an individual, if your work does not provide meaning, can you unearth the greater purpose? What initially attracted you to the company, the industry, the particular role? Can you re-establish the connection and the sense of purpose that once existed? Or do you need to make a change?

Work often does not provide the meaning that we seek in our lives. Sometimes we are not in a position to change the work we are doing, or it will take some time to find a new, best-fit opportunity. There are a multitude of opportunities to create meaning in our lives. Volunteer or otherwise contribute to something that is bigger than you and that will make a difference in the lives of others.

I would love to hear your comments. How do you create meaning in your life? Does your work generate this for you or is it achieved through other pursuits?

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