AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Meaning at Work: Using Meetings in the
Organization to Create Meaning for Participants
7th European Conference on
Positive Psychology
Amsterdam, July 1-4, 2014
Nina Tange and Ib Ravn
Research Program on
Organization and Learning
Department of Education,
Aarhus University, Campus Copenhagen
nina@edu.au.dk and ravn@edu.au.dk. Website: www.edu.au.dk/fv
AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Ib RavnI
ravn@dpu.dk
1. Today’s program
•
What is meaning?
•
Meaning at work and
in meetings
•
Meaning-creating processes
in meetings
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AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Ib RavnI
ravn@dpu.dk
2. Meaning in PERMA (Seligman, 2011)
•
Positive emotions. Engagement.
Relationships. Meaning. Accomplishment.
•
The meaningful life: Using you signature
strengths in the service of something
larger than yourself (Seligman, 2002)
•
“We grasp the meaning of objects
and events by taking them out of their
apparent brute isolation and finding
them to be parts of some larger whole,
which explains them, that is, renders
them significant” (Dewey, 1910, p. 117)
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Ib RavnI
ravn@dpu.dk
AARHUS UNIVERSITET
3. When is work meaningful?
1. You use your strengths; realize your potentials (Eagleton, 2007)
2. You make a unique contribution to work (Drucker, 1999)
3. Your organization creates value in society (Ghoshal et al., 2001)
4. You work with others to accomplish something important (Ravn,
2009)
4. Productive
community
3. Value creation
1. Use of strengths
2. Contribution
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AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Ib RavnI
ravn@dpu.dk
4. Meetings often sorely lack meaning
•
Goals are unclear: Exactly
what are we supposed to
accomplish (that will connect
us to something larger)?
•
Manager talks too much
and it’s not relevant to me
•
Discussions are unfocused and incoherent
•
Meeting participants are passive, bored and alienated
•
= A meeting often disconnects participants from any larger
organizational whole or meaning.
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AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Ib RavnI
ravn@dpu.dk
5. Our intervention research on meetings
•
To be involved and have a say in the organization is meaningful
because it connects you to the larger whole
•
The organizational meeting is potentially a forum for this
•
We did an intervention study in Denmark: Three partnerships
(bank, local government, state agency) (Ravn, 2013, 2014)
•
Intervention: We trained 105
managers in meeting facilitation
•
Pre- and post-measurements
(survey): Does this increase
meaning and value creation,
as seen by the participants?
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AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Ib RavnI
ravn@dpu.dk
6. The bank: Some results
•
”Do you contribute through the meeting?” Pre: 50%, post: 66%
•
”At the beginning of the meeting, is it clear what the overall
purpose of each agenda item is?” Pre: 12%, post: 41%
•
Management group meeting
4 times a year, full day,
15 branch managers.
Hardly any involvement
We redesigned for meaningful participation
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AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Ib RavnI
ravn@dpu.dk
7. Redesign: Processes that create meaning (a)
1. Sit next to a (relative)
stranger – and talk to her
”How does my work connect
with that of my peers?”
2. Specify meeting goals
“The importance of this
agenda item for our work is…”
3. Anchoring the meeting goals
”What can you contribute towards the shared goal?”
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AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Ib RavnI
ravn@dpu.dk
8. Redesign: Processes that create meaning (b)
4. Co-creation
Top management present ideas-inprogress, involve middle managers, use
their feedback
5. Best practice in small groups
Knowledge sharing & creation. Making
sure your peers see and appreciate your
contribution
6. Two consultants, free of charge
Helping someone with their challenge. Connects you with their work
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AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Ib RavnI
ravn@dpu.dk
9. Meaning process #5: Best practice in dyads
•
Identify a recent work task that you did well and which you found
connected you to a larger wholeness in your life (Silent reflection, 2
minute)
1. Find a person you don’t know
and tell him/her about it (5 minutes)
3. That person responds by picking
out one important thing you and
telling you.
4. Switch roles (12 minutes)
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AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Ib RavnI
ravn@dpu.dk
10. Meeting techniques today
1. Meeting type: Information meeting with presentation. Do interaction before and after (other than Q and A)
2. Optimize seating, so people can see each other
3. At the start: Meet people
4. The six processes that create meaning (slides 9+10)
5. Dyad task tries on the presented material
6. Questions? Grab us in the hall, now or later
7. Individual take-aways for maximum impact: Team up in triads on
your way out (unless you have to rush). Introduce yourselves. Tell
each other about best your best outcome from this session.
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AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Ib RavnI
ravn@dpu.dk
11. Literature
Dewey, J. (1910). How we think. Dutton.
Drucker, P. (1999). Management challenges for the 21th century. Harper.
Eagleton, T. (2007). The meaning of life. Oxford University Press.
Ghoshal, S., Barlett, C. A., & Moran, P. (1999). A new manifesto for management. Sloan Management Review, 40(3): 9-20.
Ravn, I. (2009). Meaning in Work Life: Definition and Conceptualization. First
World Congress on Positive Psychology, Philadelphia, PA, USA, June 18-21.
Ravn, I. (2013). A folk theory of meetings – and beyond. European Business
Review, 25(2), 163-173.
Ravn, I. (2014). Training managers to facilitate their meetings. International
Journal of Management Practice 7(1): 70-87.
Seligman, Martin (2002). Authentic happiness. New York: The Free Press.
Seligman, Martin (2011). Flourish. New York: The Free Press.
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