Eat Sleep Work Repeat

Meaning: why showing work matters has such an impact

Apr 6, 2025

Tamara Myles, a leadership professor at Boston College, and Wes Adams, CEO of SV Consulting Group, unpack the concept of meaningful work in this engaging discussion. They explore how a genuine sense of community, contribution, and challenge enhances workplace culture. The duo emphasizes the importance of leadership in fostering relationships, tackling burnout through support, and ensuring career growth paths to improve retention. They also touch on the vital role values play in hiring, creating a more meaningful and fulfilled work environment.

32:18

Creator website

Episode guests

Wes Adams

Tamara Myles

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Meaningful work derives from a sense of community, contribution to a greater purpose, and opportunities for personal growth.

Effective leadership fosters engagement by demonstrating genuine care for employees' lives and recognizing their contributions in meaningful ways.

Deep dives

Defining Meaningful Work

Meaningful work is characterized by three key sources: community, contribution, and challenge. Community refers to feeling connected within an organization, where individuals can show up authentically and share common values. Contribution emphasizes the ability to contribute to something larger than oneself, portraying a sense of purpose. Challenge encompasses opportunities for personal growth and development, pushing individuals to learn and advance in their roles.

Intro

2min

Cultivating Meaningful Work

18min

Creating Meaningful Work through Challenge and Support

5min

Transforming Turnover: Empowering Frontline Workers Through Career Growth

3min

Values-Driven Hiring for Workplace Culture

10min

The next two podcasts I see as a piece with each other, today is about meaning the next one is about mattering. Collectively I feel they present serious substance about the foundations of good culture.

Read Meaningful Work

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There’s some overlap - the authors today,Tamara Myles and Wes Adams, have done research with next week’s guest Zach Mercurio. One of today’s guests Tamara Myles said one of the most powerful questions you can ask to measure engagement at work is to ask ‘does your manager care about what is going on in your life?’

Today is about meaning, and I feel it gets to grips with questions of purpose. Why sometimes purpose doesn’t seem to create an impact in an organisation - and other times really makes it hum.

The authors describe meaningful work as work that provides community, helps us contribute to something that matters, and challenges us to learn and grow.

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