Wes Adams reveals how meaning drives workplace performance through three core elements: community, contribution, and challenge. Leaders act as gardeners, creating conditions for meaning to flourish rather than managing outcomes directly. Simple practices like positive feedback and asking about employees’ lives can transform engagement and cut burnout in half.

TAKEAWAYS

Meaning drives performance – Research shows that meaningful work is the upstream factor that creates job satisfaction, productivity, and even impacts stock prices. Leaders control 50% of meaning – Through the “three C’s” (community, contribution, challenge), managers can intentionally foster meaning rather than leaving it to chance. Small actions have