“The Search for Meaning in Government Service” Author: Alex N Pattakos Presentation by: Misty Dunnack February 13, 2006

Author Information Alex Pattakos, Ph.D. Alex Pattakos, Ph.D. –He serves on the Board of Directors of The Innovation Network, an international professional association focused on revitalizing organizations through the use of innovation, creativity, and group thinking skills. –He is a political scientist by academic training, he has been a professor of business and public administration and has served as an advisor to executives in both corporations and governments internationally on issues relating to policy analysis, strategic planning, program management, and organizational redesign. –He co-edited and co-authored the recent book, Intuition at Work: Pathways to Unlimited Possibilities. Alex has also taught innovative thinking courses at the university level, and was among the initial faculty to serve as evaluators for the "Innovations in American Government Awards Program" at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Higher education helps us discover the real meaning of life. What is the meaning of life?

“The search for meaning at work involves aligning our core values, which are effectively, manifestations of our inner work, with our beliefs and actions in the workplace, that is, the empirical evidence or products of our outer work.” - Alex Pattakos

“Man’s search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life…” -Viktor E. Frankl

Frankl’s sources of meaning “logotherapy” “logotherapy” -The commitment to meaningful values and goals – the will to meaning. Three categories of values that, when actualized provide sources of authentic meaning 1. Creative values, that is, “by doing or creating something” 2. Experiential values, that is, “by experiencing something or encountering someone” 3. Attitudinal values, that is, “by choosing one’s attitude toward suffering.” Actualizing such values provides a useful point of reference for reflecting on the search for meaning at work.

Creative Values “Public servants draw meaning from doing something or creating something of value. In this regard, the desire to make a difference through their work was cited repeatedly as a (if not the) primary source of meaning among the government employees or officials who were interviewed.” “Public servants draw meaning from doing something or creating something of value. In this regard, the desire to make a difference through their work was cited repeatedly as a (if not the) primary source of meaning among the government employees or officials who were interviewed.”

Experiential Values Besides the genuine experience of making a genuine difference through their work, public servants describe many different kinds of human encounters and other work-related experiences tha tclearly provide them with abundant sources of aunthentic meaning. These experiences illustrate that human beings are interdependent and that the search for meaning in government service includes some sense of the transcendent. Besides the genuine experience of making a genuine difference through their work, public servants describe many different kinds of human encounters and other work-related experiences tha tclearly provide them with abundant sources of aunthentic meaning. These experiences illustrate that human beings are interdependent and that the search for meaning in government service includes some sense of the transcendent. Frankl found that workers in government were found to be largely influenced by encounters with parents and mentors Frankl found that workers in government were found to be largely influenced by encounters with parents and mentors

Attitudinal Values “Whenever one is confronted with inescapable, unavoidable situations that are associated with suffering, the opportunity to actualize attitudinal values- namely, those that involve one’s attitude toward the suffering- becomes a source of deep meaning. “Whenever one is confronted with inescapable, unavoidable situations that are associated with suffering, the opportunity to actualize attitudinal values- namely, those that involve one’s attitude toward the suffering- becomes a source of deep meaning.

“The spirit of public administration demands public servants who are driven by the search for meaning and who seek a noble calling through government service…”