In this month’s episode, we examine a historical case study about how meaningfulness of work can be shaped by leaders’ actions. One frequently cited example of the solidarity felt among members of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the decade-long runup to the Apollo XI moon landing is the often-repeated—but apocryphal—story of a NASA janitor who, when asked by President John F. Kennedy what he was doing, replied, “I’m not just mopping the floors, I’m putting a man on the moon!” This is the title of an article by Andrew Carton, who examined thousands of documents to uncover how President Kennedy and NASA leaders instilled meaningfulness and purpose among workers, allowing them to connect their individual work activities to the overall organizational purpose. The janitor story may be a myth, but the general sentiments were real and this paper based on archival data shows how leaders can be architects of meaningfulness.
