The Leader's Leader - "Only MEANING Arouses Energy"

A leader who seeks to inspire passion and energy in the organization he or she serves will work diligently to broaden the borders of the job with meaning. A leader who has engaged the hearts of those she leads—with knowledge, with meaning, with the logos—will engage their hands, as well.

Engage the heart and the hand automatically follows.

The outcome is discretionary effort, passionate performance, and a deep desire for excellence.

Throughout the 1990s, the term “value-added” was added to the corporate lexicon. But what too many organizations fail to provide is meaning. A “value-added” environment is one that is meaning-ful! One of the prime functions of the Leader’s Leader is to communicate and articulate the purpose behind everything that each individual and every group in the organization does. The leader is consistently moving about the organization, telling people how their work fits into the overall effort and supports the whole. “Do you realize how important your job is?” such leaders will often ask their purpose partners. “Without you, there is no way this organization can succeed.” I have said that real power is the power that makes other people powerful. Let me narrow the definition of power even further;

Real power is the ability to transform purpose into performance.

An organization that fails to empower its staff with a sense of the purpose behind everything they do creates a meaning gap. And yet managers wring their hands and wonder why staffers seem lethargic and take no initiative! I meet senior corporate executives all across America, and one of their common laments is, “We want to see more passion in our companies.” The answer to their dilemma was provided, not by a psychologist, but by a noted physicist, Dr. David Bohm, who said:

“Only meaning arouses energy.”

People perform with passion when their work is meaningful—when they view their work philosophically. Work must be seen as a means for personal discovery and development if people are to give their all.

I want to spend some more time next month on the idea of a meaning- driven organization. This is a crucial concept for every one of you who works in a leadership position, so hang in there with me!

Jack Lannom is an internationally known speaker, author, and consultant. He has served as a corporate coach for several Fortune 500 companies, including Citibank, R&R Donnelly and Sons, Jefferson Pilot Communications, Caterpillar, and also Knight-Ridder Newspapers and is featured on the PBS television program, "Lannom Memory Methods".

Jack is the author of Untapped Potential, Transformational Coaching, Quantum Mind, Memory Genius, The Self-Concept Game, The Leaders Leader, You Are A Genius Children's Interactive Software, Lannom's Memory Methods, People First, and The Dynamics of Remembering Names and Faces.

He's also a talented athlete who holds black belts in six different styles of Kung Fu, including a tenth degree black sash in Wa Lu. And Jack holds the world record for breaking a 3,150-pound block of ice with a single blow from his hand!

To learn more about Jack Lannom, visit his website here: JackLannom.com where you can sign up for his free newsletter, learn more about his products and read the next 25 pages of People First.