By “creating meaning,” I don’t mean postulating an absolute truth that everyone
has to believe in. Meaning cannot be commanded or imposed. Meaning has to be
found by every individual in what they are doing, where they are doing it and with
whom they do it. I agree with Reinhard K. Sprenger’s claim that the manager can
only create the conditions for the individual determination of meaning (see
Sprenger 1999, 201 ff): “What can companies do? Let’s imagine a company
whose approach is about purpose, people and processes, a company which manages
to create meaning, the superstructure of goals, visions and values, a company
employees can identify with, whose organization relies on entrepreneurship, inte-
gration and ongoing renewal of its own and that does not offer the employees
lifetime positions, but at least a reliable contract, sending the message: ‘With us
you can unfold your professional potential individually.’ This is necessary for
extraordinary achievements” (Bartlett and Ghoshal 2000, p. 78).
However again and again companies create a communicative crisis of credibility
due to conflicting business goals and messages that are mutually exclusive, under-
standably confusing their employees. Due to “double binds” in the form of open
conflicts between management directives and other regulations or less obvious
contradictions between guidelines and everyday life, employees and executives
find themselves in paradoxical situations and have the feeling that they always do
the wrong thing. A typical example is: “Be a team player and cooperative, but
rise above competitors if you want to be promoted.” Reinhard K. Sprenger calls
such “double binds” the “dismantling of credibility,” because they are based on
an insincere communication strategy that erodes the corporate culture from the
within, because it pretends to act productively while at the same time precluding
such action.
If the desired culture, i.e. the idealized model, and the actual culture, i.e. the
values implemented differ, then dissatisfaction, discouragement, frustration, resig-
nation, lack of motivation and lack of loyalty are inevitable. “If you’re going to talk
the talk, you have to walk the walk” should be the maxim of every manager.
In order to make this possible, the vision and the values of the company have to
be realistic. If they are too aloof, no one can envision them and even the most
dedicated executive can live up to them. The employees will suffer from the
resulting credibility gap, become cynical, passive, resigned and save their energy
for their leisure time.
More important than the preached visions and guiding principles published in
the company’s glossy magazines are the unwritten and unspoken messages, which
are visible in specific behaviors, organizational structures and traditions. Actions
are the true, clear and unambiguous messages. Credible leaders do not only live out
values and principles, they are also able to communicate, to justify, to question,
to be questioned by the employees, and to revise those values if necessary (see
Sprenger 2002a, pp. 223–241).
For modern knowledge workers at all levels of the hierarchy the purpose of
working is no longer (only) monetary. Creating profit and shareholder value are
necessary prerequisites for the survival and competitiveness of an organization, but
these two goals do not imbue the work with any deeper meaning or represent the
3.2 Leading with Your Head and Heart 171