Last in our Meaningful Workplace Series: Forge a Meaningful Employee Alliance 

“Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” – Vince Lombardi

The focus in the development of a Meaningful Workplace really needs be on self-discovery and self-identification. It’s about helping employees to be aware of, to identify with, and to connect to the ambitions, feelings, and behaviors the business seeks in its workplace.

The efforts to build a Meaningful Workplace must not result in dictates, mandates, or rulebooks. There is no need to appoint “meaning police” to monitor employees and hand out tickets. There are no trainers, only mentors. There are no short-lived campaigns, but rather a constant undertow of meaningful actions.

Becoming self-replicating and emotionally connected

The goal is to become a self-propagating Meaningful Workplace.

A workplace in which employees embrace the ambition and align their efforts to it. A workplace to which employees feel emotionally connected. A workplace in which employees enjoy making their coworkers feel the same emotional bond. A workplace in which the attitudes, behavior, morality, and ethics of employees create a truly meaningful culture. A workplace in which meaning simply replicates itself every time an employee comes in contact with the business, a coworker, or someone in the outside world.

Summary

Armed with engaged and motivated employees, housed in a Meaningful Workplace, a business becomes a powerful force against what Gary Hamel calls, “the threats of accelerating change, hyper-competition, and commoditized knowledge.”

The Meaningful Workplace is the workplace of the future. Its clearly stated ambition serves as a beacon to everyone in the workplace. The way it leaves employees feeling makes them eager to participate, collaborate, and create. The behavior of the employees creates a meaningful culture that serves as a magnet to prospective recruits, customers, partners, suppliers, investors, communities, and influencers.

By forging a meaningful alliance with the employees – by establishing, managing, and nurturing a Meaningful Workplace – businesses can become better fit for the future.

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Did you miss the first eight parts of this series? You might want to read:

• Creating a Meaningful Workplace: It Doesn’t Happen By Messaging Alone
• Being Meaningful: It’s the Key to Better Engaging Your Employees, 
• Getting Employees to Respond Positively, 
• Why Workplaces Aren’t Meaningful Now, 
• The Meaningful Workplace: It Takes New Ways of Thinking, and Acting,
• Using Values to Build Engagement and a Meaningful Workplace;
• Building Success Is All About Building a Meaningful Workplace Culture; and,
• How a Master Plan Creates an Employee Alliance.

This series is excerpted from a white paper titled The Meaningful Workplace that was first published at Emotive Brand.