CHAPTER 8

Meaning-Making Leadership

The leader’s job is to make money, not meaning, right?

You should know the answer to this question by now.

Meaning-making might not be in the leader’s job description, but it’s in the job manifestation. Whether you like it or not, as a leader you live in a fishbowl where every move can add or subtract to the meaning and emotional connectedness that your employees feel.

As a meaning-making leader, think of yourself as a master electrician—you help hardwire a network of emotional connections, linking the employee to the employer and vice versa, and both to a greater good. The Markers of Meaning that I’ve brought to life throughout this book constitute the wiring in the workplace network. Through your conduct ...

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