Why we don’t talk about meaning at work: MIT Sloan Management Review
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The Map of Meaning® originated from Professor Marjolein Lips-Wiersma’s original PHD Research, for which she talked to people from a variety of backgrounds and roles, including professional, managerial, blue collar and administrative on what gives meaning to their work.
Marjolein then summarised their answers into the Holistic Development Model. (The Map’s initial name.) The Model was tested by Marjolein, Lani Morris and Patricia Greenhough with hundreds of people in workshops, lectures, and in organisational and therapeutic interventions. They double-checked its relevance and robustness with twenty colleagues (academics, community workers, consultants, managers and coaches) who use the model in their work. In 2010, the model was quantitatively tested on 500 participants from a wide variety of ages, occupations and cultures, which confirmed that it captures the content and process of meaningful work. Twenty years of testing the model in this wide range of ways, in an ever-expanding range of countries (including Romania, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil) provides the assurance that the framework is robust, relevant and very useful.
In 2011. The Map of Meaning was published and the model was renamed becoming The Map of Meaning®. In 2017, the original publisher, Greenleaf, was bought out by Routledge, and the second edition of our book, The Map of Meaningful Work, was published with worldwide distribution.
In 2017, The Map of Meaning International Charitable Trust was formed the the goal of stewarding our growing community of practitioners and sharing the Map of Meaning® with all the peoples of the world.
Today The Map of Meaning International community goes from strength to strength and acknowledges all who played a part in this growth. Founders Marjolein Lips-Wiersma, Lani Morris and Patricia Greenhough; Marjo’s husband, Charles Lips; Patricia’s husband, Richard Greenhough; Margaret Jeffaries who was the initiator of the first Spirit@Work conference in Christchurch in 2000 at which the Map was first made public; The early pioneers who worked with the Map: Laura Brearley, Sue Howard, Dave Burton; Robin Burgess and Drew Pryde from the Scottish Institute of Business Leaders; Helena Clayton, Steve Tarpey, Kerry McGovern, Celine McKeown, who each in their own way took the Map into new parts of the world, and developed new applications.
Further pioneers, Chris Henderson, Sandra Hogan and Judy McLelland also added to our work. Cara Bennett of Langley Twigg, and Geof Shirtcliffe, Tim Sherman and Pearson Williams of Chapman Tripp, Wellington who provided advice, and Sean Bevin, who was the witness for the Trust documentation.
