Personal Fulfillment and Workplace Flourishing: Finding Personal and Mutual Alignment

Abstract

This chapter introduces the disempowering leader and the undesirable effects of working under toxic leaders and poor operation management; further, it emphasizes personal fulfillment through the perspective of organizational well-being. It describes the facets of intolerant leaders who disempower those around them and how this affects the collective harmony and personal well-being of individuals in the workplace. Consequently, an undermining leader, poor operations, and a misaligned team cause a disruption in one’s personal fulfillment and the overall well-being of the organization.

In such an environment, an empowered employee rapidly becomes invalidated by the disempowering leader; this type of leader discredits employees’ hard work, appropriates their ideas to present them as one’s own, and does not provide due recognition to followers. Distinctive traits of the disempowering leader include arrogance, intolerance, and ultimately, narcissism. In contrast, an empowering leader fosters trust and enhances employees’ intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and creativity. Given today’s highly volatile environment, classic approaches to leadership that focus on command and control have become woefully inadequate and the emphasis has now shifted to leadership as a source of motivation and employee development (Yukl (2006) Leadership in organizations, 6th edn. Pearson–Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River).

This chapter will address critical issues that disrupt the culture of the workplace, and offer solutions to promote spiritual connectedness and well-being at the personal, team, and organizational level. Finally, to address the malaise of disenfranchising leaders, this chapter will present the twin virtues of humility (to overcome intolerance and impatience) and gratitude (to live a fulfilling life).