Purpose Archives | Meaning-Centered Leadership

How to Rise Above Workplace Toxicity

March 26, 2023

In our book Meaning-Centered Leadership: Skills and Strategies for Increased Employee Well-Being and Organizational Success, we share research to help organizations build meaning and purpose. By developing engagement, empowerment, and expertise, organizations are able to support the human need for meaningful work. An important question often comes up: How do employees respond when their workplace is toxic? How do they find the elusive markers of meaning when overwhelmed by dysfunctional workplace practices? The following three-step plan provides a framework for…

The Power of Purpose

March 10, 2022

Ed Jackson, Ed.D.

In a recent presentation, Sheryl Connelly, a futurist with the Ford Motor Co. shared that people become disengaged because they lack purpose in their work. In our book, Meaning-Centered Leadership: Skills and Strategies for Increased Employee Well-Being and Organizational Success, we share the power of purpose and how it can lead to workplace meaning. In presentations, we often share the hierarchy of meaningful work (pictured below). We identified the connection between finding purpose and significance in your work and how…

One Simple Step to Reduce Burnout

March 4, 2022

Ed Jackson, Ed.D.

In our book, Meaning-Centered Leadership: Skills and Strategies for Increased Employee Well-Being and Organizational Success we describe how leaders can activate multiple pathways to meaning. When employees find their work meaningful they are happier, healthier, more productive, and three times as likely to stay in their organizations. Unfortunately, recent survey data suggest much work is needed. Survey research suggests over 90% of employees report burnout. The respondents describe having unmanageable stress and frustration. In fact, they report that high levels…

The Strongest Predictor of Employee Disengagement May Surprise You

February 10, 2022

Ed Jackson, Ed.D.

A slew of articles and research attempting to explain the Great Resignation may be causing confusion. Employers are responding in a variety of ways, from raising wages to offering flexible schedules and focusing on work-life balance. These are all positive steps for employees, but is it enough? Recent research has uncovered that a toxic work environment is 10.4 times stronger at predicting company retention than wages*. This data suggests that employees are looking for more than just a wage increase.…

What’s Got You Stressed: 5 Important Questions to Consider

January 31, 2022

Ed Jackson, Ed.D.

Politics, COVID-19, Work, what’s got you stressed? It seems Americans have several major sources of stress. A recent study by Kevin B. Smith of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln found that over 90 million Americans say they have experienced stress due to politics. Smith states, “Large numbers of Americans are convinced that politics is exacting significant social, psychological, and even physical costs on their well-being.” Gallup’s research also found that the United States and Canada report the highest rates of daily…

Quality Coaching for Engagement and Retention

January 20, 2022

Ed Jackson, Ed.D.

The “Great Resignation” has led to a plethora of offered solutions. Everything from flexibility to shared leadership has been suggested, but what do people really want? Research points not to workplace conditions, hours, or wages, but instead points to the need for meaningful work. Workplace meaning is substantially governed by relatedness, autonomy, and competence, or as we state in our book, Engagement, Empowerment, and Expertise. What people want from work is meaning. Meaning-Making begins with establishing trusting relationships with your…

Experts Call For Meaning at All Levels of Education

December 10, 2021

Ed Jackson, Ed.D.

A Meaning-Centered approach is needed throughout the education system. Educational researcher Michael Fullan states, “New meaning must be evident at every level of the system, but if it is not done at the level of the student, for the vast majority of students, all is lost.” (The New Meaning of Educational Change, 5th ed.) He claims that the future depends on deep engagement at the teacher and student levels. Unfortunately, Gallup research reports teacher disengagement levels at nearly 70%, and…

Bring The Power of Purpose & Meaning to Your Life

October 8, 2021

Ed Jackson, Ed.D.

In the third edition of The Power of Purpose: Find Meaning, Live Longer, Better, Richard Leider describes the importance of purpose by declaring, “Purpose is what gives life a meaning.” Throughout the text, meaning and purpose are often paired. He asks, “If we had to name what makes life worth living, what gives it meaning and purpose?” His use of the terms “meaning and purpose” as synonymous or twin tracks was evident throughout the book. He states, “It is clear…

What’s LOVE Got To Do With It?

August 24, 2020

Barbara Bartels, Ed.D.

Love What You Do Ask yourself, do you love what you do? Can you ultimately say that you put your heart and soul into your work? Is your job fulfilling and satisfying? How about your team members? Do you help team members find meaning and purpose in their work? Throughout this pandemic, many people are asking themselves if they truly love their work. As a leader, it is your job to help them figure this out. The 3Es of Meaningful…