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The Power of Meaning to Serve and Transform

THE MEANINGFUL LEADER

The Book

Meaning is a fundamental human need. Yet, most organizations fail to provide the conditions for people to experience meaningful work. For example, while meaning is a primary contributor to engagement, it is estimated that around 60% of people are disengaged at work. The economic and social costs of this problem are immense. What is surprising is that management science knows how leaders can promote meaningful work, but that knowledge does not reach practice sufficiently. This book aims to help cover that gap. Based on an extensive review of the latest research on leadership and human motivation and insights from practice, management science, psychology, and philosophy, this book offers a model to enable leaders to foster meaning in organizations, including practical tools and guidelines for becoming a meaningful leader every day.

You can order the book (in English or Portuguese) here.

About Me

I am an Associate Professor at the Nova School for Business and Economics (Nova SBE), part of Nova University in Lisbon. After working for many years as an engineer, manager, and business owner, I pursued a PhD at the Rotterdam School of Management, leading to a second career as a scholar.

My purpose is to contribute to more meaningful work and human-centric organizations. I spent the last 15 years teaching, running numerous leadership development programs, and conducting research, especially on servant leadership and motivation.

I bring my practical experience and academic knowledge together to help leaders and organizations become more meaningful. Recently I published the book "The Meaningful Leader", which summarizes much of my thinking.

"As cracks and challenges become visible in the volatile worldscape of today, meaningful work is core to our individual and organisational existence. We want to make a difference, and Milton has gifted us with how leaders can do just that, inspiring others through storytelling, mentoring, and enabling and empowering the workforce. The Meaningful Leader is a must-read for leaders at every level of the organisation."

Dr. Alex Bennet, Director, Mountain Quest Institute, USA; Professor, Institute of Knowledge and Innovation Southeast Asia, Bangkok University, Thailand.
"Milton's book and reflections couldn't be more timely! People are increasingly looking for companies that guarantee them meaningful work. They are looking for contexts in which they can relate and leave a mark. And this must be guaranteed by leaders. Leaders are the ones who create the contexts that are favourable to positive experiences. I'm sure Milton's message inspires all who want to be better leaders."

Isabel Viegas, Chief HR Officer, Grupo SEMAPA
"We have come through a time of profound change over the last three years, which have completely impacted and transformed the way we work, people's expectations on how they expect to work, and consequently the way people need to be managed and how we need to lead. For these reasons, I find Milton's work on Meaningful Leadership very timely and incredibly insightful as my firm, and I consider how we will operate in the future and the leadership and guidance we will need to provide going forward".

Colm Gorman, EMA Head of People, KPMG
"The extensive and careful reflection on leadership Milton de Sousa wrote made me reflect on the leadership of myself and those that served to me as an example. In that process, aspects like humility, being non-judgmental, collaboration, trust and modelling got a new and inspiring meaning".

ButtonCaroline van den Berg, HR Director, SPIE Nederland
"Milton shows us that to lead in today's world full of uncertainty and ambiguity, one must find and give meaning in/at work. That is a clear duty for leaders facing future challenges."

Ricardo Pires, Chief Executive Officer, Grupo SEMAPA
"Purposeful leadership is the key to connecting the many generations now collaborating in our work context. With his deep insights into organisations, ability to reflect out of true curiosity and to ask the right questions, Milton touches upon the essence of how to lead and engage talents for the long term: finding our purpose in what we do."

Renske Paans-Over, Chief HR Officer, Robeco
"A meaningful leader cares for people and the planet. Leading by an inspirational narrative while enabling employees to augment their impact and leveraging company strengths is a sustainable approach to attracting and retaining motivated talent. In his provocative book, Milton challenges conventional leaders via inspiring examples of meaningful leaders worldwide."

João Gunther do Amaral, Chief Development Officer, SONAE

Tools

Enabling Meaningful Change

Speaking

Do you want to know more about what meaning is and how it affects work, motivation, and organizations? Would you like to explore how meaningful leadership can help people be at their best and promote greater impact? I will gladly come along and speak with your managers. This can be a keynote, a masterclass, or simply an insightful dialogue with your team. We can use other tools to further analyze your organization. The staff at Tutoring are all trained professionals who excel in their field. Many of our educators also have supplement training in alternative learning strategies.

Leadership Survey

How good are your leaders in promoting meaningful work and bringing to life the purpose of your organization? With this comprehensive survey, you can assess the meaningful leadership competencies of the leaders in your organization, including their mindset and roles as storytellers, enablers of action and mentors.

Organizational Climate

Do people in your organization experience their work as meaningful? Do they embrace your mission and purpose? Through this survey, you can answer these questions and generate insights to develop a work climate that promotes organizational purpose and meaningful work, helping people be at their very best.The Tutoring teaching method is based on an innovative and result-oriented technique that helps students overcome barriers to bring concrete results.

Narrative analysis

Every organization has a formal narrative (mission and purpose statements, values, etc.). But how much do these integrate and promote meaning? And, what are the informal narratives in the operation that eventually shape your real culture? Through AI-driven narrative analysis, we help leaders sharpen their narratives and storytelling for greater meaning.Some people learn best on their own; others prefer learning in groups. At Tutoring, you can choose the environment that works best for you.

Organizational Check

Creating a meaningful organization requires a powerful narrative at all levels but also a set of systems (processes, structures, incentives, KPIs) that can sustain that same narrative. Purpose needs to align with strategy and meet the operation. This tool allows you to detect areas for improvement to further enable and sustain meaning in your organization. Every lesson is 45 minutes long, for optimal effectiveness. You can have one or two sessions per week, depending upon your need and availability.