Meaning and emotional connection are fundamental to creative work. As expressed by Margaret Wheatley in her book, Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time.
Every change, every burst of creativity, begins with the identification of a problem or opportunity that somebody finds meaningful. As soon as people become interested in an issue, their creativity is engaged. If we want people to be innovative, leaders must engage them in meaningful issues.
In a recent review of 21st-century literature on creativity, two findings stand out for leaders and designers: first that the only consistent predictor of creative performance is intrinsic motivation, and second, that the social environment at work can influence creative thinking. “People are most creative when they are motivated primarily by the interest, enjoyment, satisfaction, and challenge of the work itself – i.e., by intrinsic motivation” state Hennessey and Amabile (2010). Why? Because intrinsic motivation, they argue, ensures that people are more likely to fully engage their cognitive abilities and exhibit the perseverance needed to innovate.
Put another way, the interests and issues people value create a “passion of purpose” that motivates them to work harder at creative problem-solving. Intrinsic motivation then can be thought of as the bridge connecting our rational, intellectual self to our emotional, values-driven self. “Values play a significant role in creative behavior,” confirms Runco, and they are not only manifested as interests, motives and commitments, but also impact self-direction and self-transcendence (Runco 2007). This developmental influence of values on one's individual life course and personal growth is also important to organizational development and growth. The challenge facing leaders is to find ways to connect a person's individual values and motivations to the larger organizational values and mission.
One solution may be through design of the workplace. Traditionally, leaders and designers have focused on how the social environment influences creativity through the choreography of work processes and team communications which support behaviors that promote creative thinking. But this chapter seeks to explore an alternate focus: how might design help people increase their commitment to work? Traditionally, leaders do this in two very important ways: first, by helping people develop a greater values consciousness related to their work, i.e., an awareness of the values that spark their interests and motivations; and second, by communicating the meaningfulness of work, i.e., the impact of the work on broader societal issues. If design is to be a tool for leaders to increase commitment to work, it needs to support more than work process and team dynamics; it also needs to communicate the meaningfulness and social purpose of work by forging connections to the personal values of individuals. But how?
This study explores answers to that question. Through narrative inquiry, the emotional connections between individual values and motivations are linked to workplace design and ultimately authentic leadership style and practice. At the centerpiece of this chapter is a true story of how one VP-level leader communicated her personal values and motivation for work through her office design. Entitled A Sense of Purpose, the story evidences how artifacts, aesthetics, and symbols foster emotional connections to work for both leader and follower. Through the story we come to understand how values, meaning-making, and motivations can be embodied in the physical environment, used as a reflective tool, and transferred from leader to follower. Through this narrative of authentic leadership by design we develop insight into the following questions:
Several areas of scholarship inform this inquiry. First, research on the emotional organization emphasizes the importance of managing emotions in the workplace and, in particular, the need to focus on positive emotions and their possible influences across the organization. Second, scholarship on artifacts, aesthetics, and symbolism reveals a mediating role of the designed environment in communicating the meaning and purpose of work. Lastly, the emerging concept of authentic leadership provides a framework for understanding how passion of purpose is transferred between leader and follower, giving insight into how individual values evolve into organizational values. All three scholarly arenas are evidenced in the narrative, A Sense of Purpose.
During the past decade theories of organizational management and development have shifted away from an emphasis on analytical issues to include emotional issues as well. Once thought to be germane only to individual performance, emotions at work are now being recognized as the turnkey to understanding broader issues of organizational change and transformation.
Organizations change or stagnate because of the emotions that energize or freeze people. All organizations are emotional arenas where feelings shape events, and events shape feelings. Emotions are not an optional extra, or incidental to “real” work. They are part of the warp and weft of work experiences and practices.
Understanding emotions helps us to understand how social structures, norms, and values of an organization are shaped. Emotions both characterize and inform work processes and are deeply woven into the way roles are enacted and learned, power is exercised, trust is held, commitment formed, and decisions made (Fineman 2003). Fineman goes on to later argue that to understand the emotional organization necessitates a shift from the traditional within the individual focus to exploring how emotions operate across the organization, i.e. the social and relational context of emotion at work (Fineman 2008).
Understanding the nature of emotions is the first step to designing emotional connection into the workplace. “Emotions are direct responses to events, issues, relationships and objects that are important to people” (Frijda 1988; Lazarus 1991 in Smollan and Sayers 2009). Emotions are short, target-centered, and intense reactions linked to something specific, and as such are distinguishable from moods, which are often longer-lasting and more diffuse (Gooty, Connelly, Griffith, and Gupta 2010). More important for this research is the fact that emotions are considered temporary state affects, as opposed to stable trait affects like values and motivations. This is an important distinction because it clarifies that values underpin people's emotional reactions. People's personal value priorities not only trigger temporary emotional responses but also guide their long-term worldviews, their attitudes, and their decisions to behave and act in a certain way (Rohan 2000). It is this attitudinal and behavioral influence of values that links emotions to motivations.
While both positive and negative emotions influence organizational effectiveness, a preponderance of the research to date has focused on negative emotions, resulting in a call for scholarship that examines positive and proactive emotions in organizations (Quick and Quick 2004; Roberts 2006). Positive organizational scholarship (POS), as it has come to be known, is “the study of that which is positive, flourishing, and life giving in organizations” (Cameron and Caza 2004). POS is concerned primarily with the study of positive outcomes, proactive processes, and stable, long-term attributes of organizations and their members (Wright and Quick 2009). POS is also concerned with dynamic change processes as a result of individual attitudes and behaviors, especially those that contribute to societal good and self-transcendent values (Wright and Quick 2009). By analyzing a case of proactive emotional engagement in an organization and presenting it in storied form, this research links leadership actions to design interventions through an ongoing, dynamic sequence of interpersonal events and expands the scope of positive organizational scholarship.
We recommend continuing to build bridges across proactivity research in the different domains…as well as going further to draw stronger links between proactivity and related fields such as entrepreneurship, innovation, and stress management. We also encourage researchers to continue to compare proactive behaviors to more passive forms of work behavior (e.g., Griffin et al 2007).
By examining the intersections between the domains of design and leadership, we can learn to manage emotions across organizations more effectively through the design of physical settings.
While the research on emotions in the workplace is rich (Brotheridge and Lee 2008; Elfenbein 2007; Fisher 2010) there is a void in the literature about the impact of workplace design on employee emotions (Elsbach and Pratt 2007). “Recent organizational research on the relationship between the properties of physical settings and the experience of mood and emotions has been slim with very little accumulated knowledge” (Brief and Weiss 2002). Yet understanding how design impacts perceptions, interactions, and emotions over time is important to leaders who want to use it as a leadership tool. In one study where multiple stakeholders were interviewed about the artifacts within a large public transportation organization, researchers demonstrated that emotion toward artifacts blends into emotion toward the organization (Rafaeli and Vilnai-Yavetz 2004). In their book Artifacts and Organizations: Beyond Mere Symbolism, Rafaeli and Pratt argue that a triad of influences in physical settings – artifacts, aesthetics, and symbols – work in concert to impact management, collective identity, and communications strategies in the organizational environment. Together they create a holistic understanding of how the physical setting impacts employee emotions through behavioral (artifacts), sensory (aesthetic), and cognitive (symbolic) interactions (Rafaeli and Pratt 2006).
Linking workplace design to emotional connection should be holistic in perspective and process-oriented if it is to inform our understanding of design as a tool for leadership. Research shows that mediation objects play three roles: as carriers of controversies, of compromises, and of prescriptions (Hussenot and Missonier 2010). In other words, objects can provoke dialogue, create shared meaning, and direct behaviors. “Rather than a static analysis, human–object interaction needs to be understood and observed through a process analysis, taking into account the evolution of objects and interactions” (Hussenot and Missonier 2010). By using narrative method, this research contributes to a process-oriented understanding of how meaning and motivation is influenced by people interacting with the physical environment. By creating a storied understanding of how artifacts, aesthetics, and symbols are presented and interpreted over time within an organization, this research evidences an important interplay between leaders and followers – the dynamic, emotional process of meaning-making within organizations.
A primary role of leaders in organizations involves “sensegiving” (communicating meaning) within organizations. “Sensegiving-for-others is the process of disseminating new understandings to audiences to influence their sensemaking-for-self” (Gioia and Chittipeddi 1991). Research by Maitlis examined formal structures leaders might use to create sensegiving, such as meetings, reports proposals, etc., but not the more passive measures such as aesthetics and symbolism (Maitlis 2005). Maitlis notes that previous research has focused largely on who the people engaged in sensegiving are and what strategies they are using, but “we know little about the conditions associated with sensegiving in organizations – where, when, or why it occurs, despite the fundamental nature of these issues” (Maitlis and Lawrence 2007).
Though office design is composed of static elements, it has a dynamic influence on stakeholders and the organization by creating a physical narrative that underpins (or undermines) authentic emotions and work processes. “Narrative construction as sensemaking is a collective social process that includes cognitive dissonance, conflict, and negotiation” (Albolafia 2010). This essay builds on both Maitlis' and Albolafia's work by exploring issues of dissonance, conflict, and negotiation through the meanings embodied in symbolic objects and documenting through narrative how design enables a process of sensegiving and sensemaking in support of authentic leadership.
Authentic leadership is an emerging concept grounded in positive organizational scholarship and transformational leadership theory (Avolio, Gardner, Walumbwa, Luthans, and May 2003; Avolio and Gardner 2005). It is characterized by several distinguishing qualities including self-awareness, relational transparency, an internalized moral perspective, and balanced information-processing (Walumbwa, Avolio, Gardner, Wernsing, and Peterson 2008). Self-awareness refers to knowing who you are and the values of importance to you. “Authenticity can be defined as owning one's personal experiences, be they thoughts, emotions, needs, preferences, beliefs, or processes captured by the injunction to know oneself” (Harter 2003; Walumbwa et al. 2008).
The second distinguishing quality, relational transparency, refers to a willingness to share true inner emotions and vulnerabilities in an effort to maintain open, honest communications and interactions. Authentic leaders also work to develop an internalized moral perspective, a moral compass that aligns actions with beliefs, particularly in the face of conflicting pressures. Lastly, authenticity is associated with even-handed consideration of multiple information sources. The narrative, Sense of Purpose, focuses on the first three characteristics.
Over the past several years, authentic leadership has also come to be defined as a pattern of leader behavior that promotes a positive psychological and ethical climate with a particular concern for fostering positive self-development (Walumbwa et al. 2008). Rather than training leaders not to express their emotions, leaders would benefit from better training in how to express their emotions effectively. This may help leaders develop greater comfort with expressing genuine emotions and avoid the temptation toward surface acting. “Mastering the basic skills behind genuine emotional expression and deep acting may make the workplace more productive and enjoyable for both leaders and followers” (Humphrey, Pollack, and Hawver 2008), particularly when the emotional expression helps individuals identify values of importance and reframe how they can achieve them through their work. Reframing or frame-breaking, for the purposes of this work, refers to a values shift or realignment between the individual and the organization. Through the presentation of a contradictory or nontraditional frame of reference, leaders help others develop self-awareness, shifting their perceptions of their ability to impact their work and society.
Values alignment between the individual and the organization is critical to organizational success because conflicting values affect an individual's engagement, motivation, and passion for work – all of which have been linked to reduced turnover, absenteeism, enhanced job performance, and work satisfaction as well as overall psychological well-being (Meyer and Maltin 2010; Meyer, Becker, and Vandenberghe 2004; Rubino, Luksyte, Perry, and Volpone 2009). The absence of values alignment has been linked to emotional exhaustion and burnout (Humphrey et al. 2008; Rubino et al. 2009). People who find work intrinsically rewarding tend to regard work as a calling, an expression of oneself (Peterson, Walumbwa, Byron, and Myrowitz 2009) and are likely to exhibit a host of positive effects that some research links to innovation and creativity (George and Zhou 2007; Hennessey and Amabile 2010; Rubino et al. 2009).
Leadership traits, behaviors, and influences are intertwined with followership emotions, interaction patterns, and relationships and therefore are best studied from a process perspective (Yukl 1981). Yet, much of the scholarship to date on authentic leadership has been theoretical, quantitative, and largely focused on the individual leader. This case study documents leadership as it occurs naturally within a social system contributing to a qualitative understanding of the concept of authenticity as it relates to design and emotion in the workplace. This study provides one example of how an authentic leader proactively managed her own emotions through the design of her workplace, illustrating how the physical environment supports sense-making across the organization.
The research presented in this essay is part of a larger study entitled Strategic Stories Shaping 21st Century Designing: a collection of case studies which explored the role of workplace design in supporting leadership from a systems view of design impact. Utilizing narrative method in combination with a traditional case-study approach allows us to capture an integrative, holistic view of design as it relates to organizational life. Through narrative we are able to weave together a systems view of people and place, emotions, and aesthetics in an effort to better understand the interconnected nature of the physical and emotional elements of work. By constructing narratives of emotive workplace design, we are creating an accessible means of understanding critical incidents, and can begin to determine how leaders influence the attitudes and behaviors of followers (Yukl 1981). Narratives are particularly good at capturing emotions and revealing tacit forces of influence that cannot be captured through more traditional analytical methods (Boje 1991).
Narratives have three important attributes not found in other types of qualitative research. First, they are contextual, providing a framework of events and emotions from which to assess design intervention and impact. Second, they provide a systems view of the experience, often from multiple perspectives. Third, they allow the reader to experience the timing and sequence of critical events similar to the way the characters do – as they unfold. In this way, narratives guide the reader through their own process of discovery as they compare their own experiences with those in the story.
All the cases were selected to meet the following three criteria. Cases had to be: (1) authentic – key players in real situations were interviewed and documented. This provided greater validity than would hypothetical composites created from multiple case sources; (2) aspiring – the organization approached design in a proactive way to promote positive change; and (3) strategic – the design impact had potential to impact the future course of the company. The case being presented is a 1,500-person investment services firm that recently redesigned its corporate headquarters (housing 400 employees) located in a major city in the northeast United States.
All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim to ensure accuracy. In addition to the recorded interviews, photographs were taken of the newly designed office space. Interview data were collected on site by the author at the headquarters site. Being on site while interviewing supported the internal validity in several ways. It provided the opportunity to see examples and actual outcomes referenced in stories as they were being told. It allowed the researcher to observe and corroborate portions of the story. Observations recorded through audio journals occurred throughout the interview process and proved invaluable for developing an intuitive feel for the organizational culture and for writing the narrative.
Inductive analysis with a focus on critical incidents was used to identify emergent issues and recurring themes throughout the case study. Final categories of analysis emerged from each interview rather than being determined a priori, an accepted procedure for narrative analysis (Atkinson 1998; Wolcott 1990). Several preliminary themes surfaced during this process: design and image, values clarification and communication, freedom to communicate personally held values, trust and leadership, decision-making as distinct from participation, and a sense of community. These themes formed the basic categories for further analysis and review after the narrative was created.
Creating the narrative was a separate and distinct phase in the research process. The raw interview data were reduced to the core narrative using those parts of the transcript that were central to the investigation. For example, extensive biographical material collected during the interview was not part of the core narrative used to generate the story. The core narrative was then segmented according to themes, then constructed using a six-part framework for organizing and interpreting narratives which included (1) abstract, (2) orientation, (3) conflicting action, (4) evaluation, (5) resolution, and (6) coda (Langellier 1989; Riessman 1993). This structure formed a mechanism for both the narrative analysis and construction. It proved invaluable for distilling the raw transcription data into several focused stories, each with a major theme, in this case authentic leadership. Unlike case-study reporting, which endeavors to provide a whole picture of the case with multiple issues and multiple voices, results presented using a story format intentionally focus on a particular issue in question and often a single voice (Wolcott 1990). The entire process of structuring raw interview transcripts into a meaningful story followed Lieblich's holistic-content approach (Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, and Zilber 1998).
Validity using narrative method is dependent on three primary characteristics: dependability, conformability, and transferability (Greene 1994). Dependability is achieved by the events being based on true-life experiences, where none of the events or encounters described are contrived. Conformability is established by building actual quotes into the storyline such that the conversation can be traced back to the original transcripts. Finally, transferability is achieved when the descriptive data embedded in the narrative enables readers to associate themselves with the narrative content. In other words, the narrative makes familiar linkages to the reader's world, allowing them to transfer the lessons to new contexts.
The narrative, A Sense of Purpose, which follows represents the results of the inductive, critical incident analysis. It is based on a true story of an executive-level leader designing for emotional connection using artifacts, aesthetics, and symbolism in her office. This story is represented as largely told to the interviewer – not as a composite of unrelated events. Several key insights emerged from the narrative, highlighting the intersection of design and leadership and are presented in the discussion.
The narrative, A Sense of Purpose, traces the evolution of how meaning is communicated through artifacts and the aesthetics of space. It is a story about how individual values shape organizational values through the sharing of authentic emotions between leaders and followers. Through the narrative we see how leadership, followership, and design intersect to develop values alignment and emotional connection, both of which are fundamental to creative work.
Several important ideas emerge from the narrative relating the concepts of design, leadership, and the emotional organization. Framed as “design leadership constructs,” they operationalize how to use design as a tool for leadership, either as a reflective, individual process or a process of engagement between leader and follower. The first construct (1) design as self-centering, represents an inward focus on design leadership, while the following three constructs, (2) design as provocateur, (3) design as a developmental process, and (4) designing for authenticity, shift to a distinctly outward, leader–follower focus. Together, they show how meaning and values embodied in the designed environment are transferred from the individual to the group and to the organization.
The narrative reveals a leader's reflective, internal discourse focused on the need to align individual values and organizational values. In this case, the leader in the story, Monica, worried that financial performance issues would dominate her attention and undermine the more humanistic values that provided not only her intrinsic motivation for work, but ultimately the key to a successful business. Concerned about how she would maintain her commitment to financial performance and the well-being and vibrancy of the elderly people living in the communities that she finances, Monica designed a rich and varied array of artifacts – functional, aesthetic, and symbolic – into her office to help her balance these competing issues. Some of these artifacts were two-dimensional and pictorial, some were three-dimensional and abstract, but all were designed to connect her and others to the invisible stakeholders – the elderly and their caregivers who are directly affected by the business.
Monica's artifacts functioned as more than simple reminders or decorative objects; they functioned symbolically as interpretive tools to help Monica and her co-workers create new understandings of the meaningfulness of their work. Whether language-based, visual, or spatial, symbols help individuals generate new knowledge through a discursive, internal questioning process in which the viewer discovers new meaning by comparing their own experiences and memories with those embodied in the physical object. The tea service was just such a symbolic object. It was not used for the act of “serving tea,” but rather to connect people with the concepts of service to others, help and kindness, civility, time, and a host of other emotional connections as varied as the people viewing them. The photographs of the elderly faces on the wall, though not abstract, functioned similarly, helping Monica and her co-workers relate their own personal experiences and understanding of the unique needs of the elderly to the stakeholders of the senior housing venture. “Physical objects.” argue Leonard and Swap “can embody knowledge, often evoking emotion-laden personal memories or cultural connections. They come to symbolize who we are – our beliefs, our aspirations” (Leonard-Barton and Swap 1999).
Symbolic artifacts help us reframe problems (and sometime ourselves) in new and different ways. Schon refers to this process as problem-setting (Ortony 1979). Problem-setting is an important first step in any creative process. It is a frame of reference that guides (or limits) the problem-solving process. In this case, Monica's tea set symbolized an alternative frame of reference, a human service frame, from which to explore solutions to management or operational issues. Monica's tea service helped her reframe the problem from a financial frame to one that focused on customer service and growth. She understood that for the financial side of the business to succeed, she has to be successful in the human-centered side of the business, i.e., that of elder care and community-building. “When people become aware of conflicting frames of reference, perceptions are transformed and a new self-knowledge emerges” (Ortony 1979), which encourages us to think and act in new ways (Morgan [1997] 2006). The story reveals that this not only happened for Monica, but for many of her co-workers as well.
As the narrative continues we see a shift in focus from inward reflection to outward engagement. What began as internal self-dialogue evolved into external discourse as co-workers pondered the nontraditional artifacts present in Monica's office and questioned her as to their meaning and purpose. Monica's need to be mindful of her core values blossomed into a leadership opportunity to help others to do the same. Surprised at the cynical responses elicited by the tea service and the faces of the elderly on the wall, Monica soon realized that her office could be used as a tool to provoke thinking and dialogue about corporate vision and values, shareholder needs versus stakeholder needs, and to challenge preconceptions about work. For Monica, design became a silent provocateur to facilitate emotional engagement.
Monica's symbols and artifacts provoked emotional engagement because they represented design dissonance – a nonconforming and disruptive relationship between object, function, and environmental context. No one expected to see a fanciful tea set on the work credenza of a VP in a financial investment firm. Nor did they expect to see multiple images of elderly faces prominently displayed on a wall, artwork that was highly emotive, or books about growing old gracefully. It was Monica's contradictory design aesthetic – not the objects themselves, that was disruptive. This is an important distinction represented in the story. There was nothing inherently unusual or nonconforming in the selected objects. In fact, in another context these objects may have seemed quite ordinary. It was the intentional design contrast, the risk she took in representing herself and her values in a nontraditional way, which was key to engagement.
Dramatic, symbolic actions emphasize key values in the vision…symbolic actions also demonstrate a manager's commitment to his or her vision, especially when the manager risks substantial personal loss, makes self-sacrifice or acts in ways that are unconventional.
(Yukl 1981)
The story also highlights a unique aspect of designing with symbols – passive engagement. Monica did not have to say a word to engage people in a dialogue about values; the artifacts in her office began that process offering employees an important level of control over “if, when, and how” they might engage the reflective process. This allowed her to adopt an indirect leadership style with the tenor of an invitation; one that implied “these symbols are here for me now to help me reflect on my goals and purpose, but they are also here for you –when you are ready.” The messages were not forced, nor were they hidden, but rather remained a latent opportunity to share her values until a co-worker chose to engage – or challenge – them.
Lastly, the many challenges to Monica's symbols and aesthetics illustrate the concept of creative abrasion. Creative abrasion results from a collision of opposing frames of reference among team members. The resulting tensions are a natural and critical part of a healthy process of innovation because they force divergent thinking (thinking from multiple perspectives) and critical evaluation of the contrasting solutions (Skilton and Dooley 2010). What is important from a design leadership perspective is the ability to manage these tensions constructively rather than destructively (Leonard-Barton and Swap 1999). A manager who understands the importance of creative abrasion finds ways to promote opposing solutions while diffusing the tension that results during evaluation, thereby avoiding the destabilizing forces that undermine new ideas and innovation.
Monica's calm and steadfast commitment to her symbols in the face of criticism and cynicism was critical to the values transfer that resulted. Monica managed constructively with patience, a lack of confrontation, and a willingness to continually re-explain. In so doing she gave people the time they needed to process the conceptual contrast with their old frame of reference. Her calm retorts provided a “safe space” for reflection, enabling others to grow into new levels of understanding.
The narrative evidences design as a developmental process and illustrates the concept of organizations as living systems (Wheatley 2005). Though the symbols were inherently static, the process of self-discovery they nurtured was not. With each new query about their purpose and meaning, the symbols became part of a new storied reality of the organization, one that extended the meaningfulness and purpose of the work. For example, the person who suggested buying the lithograph of the “young and old hands in embrace” contributed to a new storied reality by adding a nuanced intergenerational quality to the mission; the maintenance staff who rearranged the faces on the wall contributed to a new storied reality through a shared pride of ownership; the people giving (and taking) the office tour contributed to a new storied reality by the telling and retelling of the story with outsiders “to talk about what it meant to us – about who we were as a company.”
While the imagery and artifacts remained fixed in an individual office setting, the story behind them spread throughout the organization, becoming more widely understood and accepted. What the narrative helps us understand is that sensegiving and sensemaking is a slow and deliberative process that occurs over time. Once engaged, people need time to process the emotional discomfort as they let go of the old frames of reference and ways of thinking. Eventually they embrace the new as their own. “When people become aware of conflicting frames of reference, perceptions are transformed (Ortony 1979). Monica's story evidences this transformational process as people's reactions shifted from cynical questioning to pride of place, ultimately including her office as part of the formal tour of the new headquarters.
Monica's office design became a form of organizational storytelling – not language-based, but design-based. Design is often perceived as a one-time static intervention because so much of the focus of design publicity is on the physicality of the product or space, the aesthetics of form, and the material sensuality. But the essence of design is not about forms or materiality, it is about the emotional connections design engenders, the relationships between people and objects that are created, and the subsequent behaviors that are choreographed. Good design is not just about physical space; it is about mind space. And it is in this psychological arena of mind space where the potential for transformation exists.
In the story, we see evidence of how an individual leader and her symbolic design elements laid the groundwork for transformation. Meaning emerged as people interacted not just with each other, but with the aesthetic qualities and elements of their surrounding environment. Morgan summarizes the symbiotic quality of emotional interactions and individual perceptions when he states:
We are not passive observers interpreting and responding to the events and the situations that we see. We play an important role in shaping those interpretations, and thus the ways the events unfold.
(Morgan [1997] 2006)
Through the narrative, we begin to understand that organizational aesthetics – the physical space, the visual qualities, the artifacts, the symbols and metaphors – play a particularly important role because they can create a storied existence for the individual within the organization, i.e., the opportunity to see the part one plays in the grand scheme (Linstead and Höpfl 2000). Leaders frame events through the use of language choices and techniques such as metaphors, artifacts, stories, and myths (Deetz, Tracy and Simpson 2000). Monica's leadership tools were her tea service, her photos, her books, and her artwork – their transformational power came from her authentic self-expression and willingness to withstand criticism.
The story emphasizes that designing for emotional connection is about designing for authenticity. Authentic leadership is defined in the literature as more than inspired, charismatic leadership; authentic leadership is about being true to oneself, one's values and vision. This last construct underpins a key aspect of designing for emotional connection and organizational sensemaking, the importance of authentic expression through design.
Monica's story is not as much about symbolic artifacts as it is about her clarity of values and her authentic voice. Monica defied pressures to conform, to be concerned with the extent to which her perceived professional image fit organizational standards and culture. Assimilation was not her goal. Monica led from the inside out by giving herself permission to express her purpose in multiple unconventional ways and by having the courage to share her more vulnerable emotional self. Monica's leadership emanated from an internal moral compass, and this is what gave the design depth and resonance.
To design for authenticity means exhibiting a transparency in beliefs, values, and decision-making. It also means a willingness to share a deep sense of self with others in tangible ways that are perceived to be genuine. This concept can best be illustrated by considering a hypothetical comparison. What if Monica had purchased several motivational posters from a catalog, posters that perhaps admonished the viewer to “respect the elderly” or consider the “other stakeholders” in a business? How might the subsequent reactions by her co-workers have been different? In other words, what are the distinguishing design qualities that communicate “authenticity”?
Design authenticity comes from an individual, not from a store or service. Such intangible qualities are not easy to realize. In fact, they are the product of a self-reflective process that truthfully aligns a person's moral compass with his or her decision-making. Designers need to be reminded that they too are subject to pressures to conform – by clients, by standards, by resources, and a host of other limitations. Designing for authenticity is a product of an ongoing dialogue with oneself about how personal values are reflected in design decisions because authentic leadership by design goes beyond being true to yourself; it includes a commitment to developing others.
The narrative, A Sense of Purpose, reveals an emotional journey beyond aesthetics and artifact to authenticity and meaning-making. What started with a single individual and a concern for being true to one's values ended with a shared passion of purpose at the organizational level. The narrative evidenced how artifacts, aesthetics, and symbolism support reflection and self-awareness, provoke dialogue and relational transparency, and develop the internal moral compass in others. It illustrated that design interventions can be more than superficial decoration; they can represent a depth of thinking about significant and conflicting issues important to the individual and to the organization and serve as a tool for emotional engagement and reflection. Through the narrative we come to understand that the designed environments in which we work are potentially powerful embodiments of ideas and values that undergird the individual and have the power to shape lives and the life of organizations. Most importantly, the narrative helps us see that at the core of the concept of design leadership is authenticity. But in order to achieve that authenticity it may be necessary to step outside of traditional expectations and professional identities to find one's own authentic voice.
The author wishes to gratefully acknowledge the thoughtful feedback and guidance of the following reviewers: Joy Dohr, Paul Eshelman, Richard Reich, Gary Evans, Alan Hedge, Jason Meneely, Deb Schneiderman, Rhonda Gilmore, Jan Jennings, Susan Chung, Robert Rich, and Jane Hexter.