KnowCo

Early in humankind’s existence, we stumbled upon several meaning making determinants that appeared most productive and that led to the creation of systems and processes to support the nearly constant human pursuit of meaning. According to Steger, Oishi, and Kashdan (2009) these include self-purpose, self-value, self-efficacy and self-worth. The systems, processes, and institutions that have supported human meaning making over the millennia have enjoyed casual acceptance and only iterative changes until the 17th century. Even through the revolutionary changes in meaning making through the Industrial Revolution and the advent of the Information Age, these values appear to hold constant. Meaning itself may shift because life offers the opportunity of constructive and or objective second thought, but the guiding values of the process do not appear to shift or change.
We find at the root of meaning making values: things we care about and that have proven to lead to meaning in the past. It appears, certain combinations may provide more meaning than others, but the evidence is only provided by anecdotal accounts, not by rigorous scientific study. Benjamin Franklin’s thoughts on values add clarifying insight:

We stand at the crossroads, each minute, each hour, each day, making choices. We choose the thoughts we allow ourselves to think, the passions we allow ourselves to feel, and the actions we allow ourselves to perform. Each choice is made in the context of whatever value system we’ve selected to govern our lives. In selecting that value system, we are, in a very real way, making the most important choice we will ever make.

John Dewey famously wrote in the context of meaning in an external setting, “Values: Things that matter, objects one desires or holds dear. The term may have a social or cultural meaning, referring to values held in common. There is no genuine social unity without values (valued objects) held in common” . The modern workplace plays a primary role in creating these valued meaning making experiences.

Next week we will begin to look more closely at the key meaning making principles that leaders must not only understand, but practice.