A crisis is a terrible thing to waste. Fortunately, when crises stop us in our tracks they may also make us stop and think, and thinking can be the start of creating meaning at work and elsewhere. Crises can shock us into facing the questions we often sidestep: “Who am I? What am I trying to accomplish? What really makes me happy? What do I believe? What is my purpose? What matters most?” As leaders probe the whys of work, they empower employees to find personal meaning that creates value for customers, investors, and communities.
Abundance implies plenty: enough and to spare, fullness that overflows. If we focus attention on what we stand to gain from our crises, not just what we stand to lose, abundance thinking can replace deficit thinking even when deficits are the rule of the day. Abundance looks to future opportunity more than past disappointments, promotes hope over despair, suggests change for the future rather than languishing in the past, and fosters the creation of new meaning where old meanings have broken down. Abundance does not imply that things come easily or quickly but that we can make meaning even in the midst of challenges we face. Like the Gross National Happiness index in Bhutan, the abundance we imagine is not just an abundance of visible assets (money, prestige, security, or position) but an abundance of an intangible sense of purpose, identity, growth, and well-being. To reiterate: an abundant organization is a work setting in which individuals coordinate their aspirations and actions to create meaning for themselves, value for stakeholders, and hope for humanity at large.
This post has been excerpted from The Why of Work published by McGraw Hill, June 2010.
For more information visit, http://thewhyofwork.com/ or email Dave and Wendy at rblmail@rbl.net
Dave Ulrich is a professor of business at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan and co-founder of The RBL Group. He has written 23 books, including Human Resource Champions, Results Based Leadership, and Leadership Brand.
Wendy Ulrich, Ph.D., has been a psychologist in private practice for over twenty years and is the author of two previous books, Weakness is Not Sin, and Forgiving Ourselves.
