Culture Turns Strategy Into A Smoothie: The Meaning #1
I’m a huge fan of affirmations. It’s my top love language so I give them and I like to receive them. I have found them to be an essential tool, when used intentionally with staff, to set the culture and boost morale. This Monday’s affirmation is, “I ask for and do meaningful, wonderful, and rewarding work.”
When I was a freshman in college, I had the opportunity to intern at International Trucks. Before my first day, my father told me my grandfather worked there, 40 years before my first day, when the company was called International Harvester. I felt an enormous sense of pride working there. The connection to my grandfather’s legacy provided a boost of pride. Knowing he worked in the manufacturing plant and that I was now working in the corporate office spoke to his legacy and the generational investment he made in my father’s education that trickled down to me. It made my work, even as an intern, that much more meaningful. It also taught me a lesson; I perform at my best when I find meaning in my work. Why do you do the work you do? What do you find most rewarding? As we think about working amid so many challenges, I encourage you to find your answers to these questions. It can fuel you to perform.
The painting posted below is called Heartfelt Waves. I painted it to represent this crazy balancing act we are all doing as we ride the waves of the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world.
Jeff Beckham is a speaker, community leader, and artist who serves as Interim CEO of Chicago Scholars a non profit that serves over 4,000 first generation college students in Chicago, Illinois.
