The Leadership Revolution: Why Leaders Must Start with Meaning
- Michael Amenta
- Nov 24, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 29, 2025
Don Draper may have considered the first levels of Maslow sufficient when he delivered his most memorable clapback.
However, evidence suggests that emotional needs may be more primary than base ones, such as income safety.
Provide meaning first
In the timeless Holocaust memoir, Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl asserted that meaning in life is a pre-requisite for survival. During his time in Dachau concentration camps, Frankl witnessed that most people who died of exposure or starvation didn’t have strong reasons to live. Their bodies quickly eroded while those who felt meaning were remarkably durable.
Even in the most inhuman conditions, there was “an opportunity and a challenge. One could make a victory of those experiences, turning life into an inner triumph; or one could ignore the challenge and simply vegetate.” He quoted Nietzsche: “If you have your why for life, you can get by with almost any how”.
Lighter examples illustrate this point as well. Across seasons of intensive survivor competitions, such as Naked & Afraid, a significant number of voluntary departures occur for emotional reasons, with world-class survivalists quitting for not finding a sense of belonging, respect, and purpose.
Thriving on meaning
Having meaning at work isn't just necessary to survive; it's critical to thrive.
That's how the hobbyist Wright brothers beat the well-funded and well-connected Samuel Langley to flight (as detailed in one of the most watched TED talks of all time). And how B Corporations, which are “legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment”, have grown to over 10,000 companies and achieved growth rates that are multiples higher than the broader economy.
To capture this energy, it's possible to cultivate meaning at work in a number of ways:
Choose for uniformity of values with diversity of experience. When hiring, ensure there's alignment in objective, vision, and values; then maximize for diversity of backgrounds to get a confluence of ideas and skills.
Focus on implicit incentives. Explicit incentives work against creative goals (though they do work for menial output). Instead, build implicit incentives via audacious goals that are aligned to the mission. Even if goals are removing bugs, tech debt, or customer complaints, frame them positively to boost motivation.
Gamify learning. Create environments that make the cycle of learning addictive by encouraging rapid experimentation. Video games have evolved over decades to provide more frequent checkpoints (smaller setbacks for failure) that keep people playing. How do we emulate this? Don't penalize failure from reps; penalize the failure to take chances. Emphasize learning and curiosity instead.
Foster autonomy. Believe that your teammates can compete with the best in your field. Most successful people have experienced the profound levels of rejection (e.g. Abraham Lincoln, among others) before being truly recognized. Could it be that your teammates have enormous potential and only need time to prepare, resources, and a growth mentality?
How to foster autonomy
Jazz musician and teacher, Wynton Marsalis, attests that leaders must accept they are not in full control of their people:
The first thing I have my students do is write a mission statement... And based on that mission statement I teach them. The fundamental thing I want to accomplish is that I want them to rise above the cycle of punishment and reward... You must actualize it. If you want to learn something, I can’t stop you. If you don’t want to learn something, I can’t teach you.
It can be hard to accept that, even in a hierarchical organization, power can be fleeting or illusory. Your employees can quit, check-out emotionally, or undermine you through whisper campaigns. Instead, leaders must align teammates' personal meaning with that of the organization and then give them space to operate.
To get comfortable granting autonomy, it's important to believe that individual contributors have vast innovation advantages over a manager or executive with second-hand knowledge. As Jane Jacobs echoed in The Life and Death of American Cities: “A fool can put on his own clothes better than a wise man can do it for him”.
One must calibrate to the individual, of course—push on those who like to be pushed and gently pull on those who thrive with a softer touch. It's also helpful to accept employees if they settle into imperfections but are competent and committed to the team. If your teammate flounders or the issue is urgent, you can always take control.
Otherwise, go Socratic. Listen, then challenge someone's beliefs through clarification questions that leverage metaphors or examples. This will help tease out their logic and allow them to draw conclusions on their own. Then go further: give discretion over as many things as possible, including budget, resources, and product roadmap. This will give teammates the energy and passion to innovate in ways you can’t foresee, as espoused in Humanocracy.
From there, a leader's job is to edit—ensure that decisions are backed by user or market data, industry knowledge, and real-world experience.
Build authenticity and trust
Beyond meaning, employee trust and feelings of psychological safety are critical to team excellence. To develop this, you must authentically seek the best for your people. As St. Paul said: "we are all members of one another, and when the health of one member suffers, the health of the whole body is lowered."
Even if your teammate’s goal is to change companies, they would be served by producing impressive results to get hired. Help them do just that, realize the benefits, and applaud them when they get their new gig. After a transition, you will have another teammate with new skills and insights; and your departed colleague will be another ally in the world.
You can also gain respect by getting your hands dirty and empathizing with the team. It's dangerous to present yourself as "one of" your individual contributors, but you can ensure you're viewed as being on the side of your team and not above the work. Earn trust by chipping in when times get tough and by accepting legitimate complaints against the organization.
Seize unforeseen potential
In short, to enable your team’s innovation culture, you must foster meaning, grant autonomy over decisions, and earn trust. Recognize that everyone has the ability to compete when their skills and passions are aligned with organizational goals. Provide training, support when they stumble, and authentic empathy.
Then, let your team figure out the what—with your edits—to foster innovation that you couldn't possibly foresee.