Meaning

"We are meaning-making creatures, lost in a universe that does not explain itself."

What is Meaning, and Why Does It Matter?

If Unknowing forces us to let go of certainty, Meaning is what we build in its place. It is the stories, symbols, and narratives that help us make sense of the world, our place in it, and what matters.

Meaning is not inherent in things, it is something we construct, negotiate, and impose onto reality. A flag is just fabric until a nation assigns it meaning. A job title is just words until an organisation structures power around it. Even concepts like ‘success’, ‘love’, or ‘justice’ are not objective truths, but evolving cultural constructs.

Meaning does not exist in a vacuum. It is shaped by history, power, and belonging. It is often invisible because we assume the meanings we have inherited are universal and natural. But they are not. They are the result of centuries of storytelling, struggle, and social negotiation.

The Fractured Lens helps us see meaning for what it is, contingent, contextual, and constructed. This isn’t just an intellectual exercise; it is essential for leadership, culture, and organisations. If we fail to question meaning, we become trapped inside old narratives, outdated assumptions, and rigid identities.

Meaning as a Social Construct

The idea that meaning is constructed has deep roots in philosophy, linguistics, and social theory. Some of the most influential thinkers on this topic have explored how meaning is not a reflection of reality but rather a product of power, language, and social interaction.

Ferdinand de Saussure: Language and the Arbitrary Nature of Meaning

Saussure, a foundational figure in linguistics, argued that words do not have inherent meanings, they mean what we agree they mean. There is nothing intrinsic about the word ‘tree’ that connects it to the object we associate with it. Meaning is relational; it exists only in contrast to other meanings.

This insight is crucial because it highlights how all meaning is a shared illusion, a useful one, but an illusion nonetheless. Organisations, for example, rely on a shared system of meaning to function. But when people stop believing in that meaning, when employees no longer see value in a company’s mission, systems fall apart.

Jean Baudrillard: The Hyperreal and Meaning in a Postmodern World

Baudrillard took this further, arguing that modern society is saturated with simulacra, representations of reality that have become more ‘real’ than reality itself. A brand logo carries meaning far beyond its material form. A university degree symbolises knowledge even if no real learning took place. Meaning, in many cases, becomes detached from any real-world grounding.

This is why organisational cultures can feel hollow. If the meaning attached to work becomes disconnected from real value, if leadership promotes ‘purpose’ while prioritising profit, people sense the contradiction, and meaning collapses.

Nietzsche: The Death of Fixed Meaning

Nietzsche’s famous declaration that "God is dead" wasn’t about religion alone, it was about the collapse of absolute meaning. He saw that modernity had eroded traditional sources of meaning, leaving people adrift. But he also warned against nihilism, urging us to take responsibility for creating our own meanings rather than relying on inherited ones.

This is the challenge of meaning in organisations and leadership:

• Do we cling to old meanings, even when they no longer fit?
• Do we pretend meaning is objective, rather than socially constructed?
• Or do we engage in the ongoing process of shaping, challenging, and reimagining meaning?

How Meaning Shapes Culture and Organisations

Meaning as Power: Who Decides What Matters?

Meaning is not neutral. It is shaped by who has the authority to define reality.

• Who decides what ‘leadership’ means?
• Who defines what is ‘professional’ or ‘valuable’ in a workplace?
• Who gets to say what is ‘normal’ in a culture?

Power structures are maintained not just through force but through control over meaning. When certain meanings become dominant, they exclude alternative perspectives.

For example:

• If ‘success’ is defined only as financial growth, then other forms of achievement (well-being, community impact) are devalued.
• If ‘professionalism’ is coded in a way that excludes certain cultural expressions (e.g., natural hairstyles, accents, or ways of speaking), it becomes a gatekeeping tool rather than a neutral standard.

Seeing through The Fractured Lens means asking:

• Who benefits from this definition of meaning?
• Whose meaning is missing or excluded?
• What alternative meanings could be possible?

Meaning in Leadership: The Danger of Empty Narratives

Leadership is, at its core, a meaning-making activity. The best leaders do not just give directions; they help people make sense of their work, their purpose, and their challenges.

But meaning cannot be fabricated without substance. Many organisations fall into the trap of using empty narratives, slogans about ‘purpose’ and ‘impact’ that do not align with lived reality.

• When leadership claims to value well-being but rewards burnout, the meaning of ‘care’ is hollow.
• When a company claims to prioritise diversity but does not redistribute power, the meaning of ‘inclusion’ is performative.
• When a brand sells empowerment while exploiting workers, the meaning of ‘empowerment’ is marketing, not reality.

Leaders must be aware of the gap between the meaning they promote and the meaning people experience. If these do not align, trust is broken, and meaning collapses into cynicism.

Meaning in Personal Identity: The Stories We Tell Ourselves

At an individual level, meaning is how we understand who we are. The stories we tell ourselves shape our choices, our relationships, and our sense of self-worth.

But these stories are not purely personal, they are shaped by culture, society, and history.

• If success is defined by status and productivity, we may feel worthless when we step away from work.
• If leadership is framed as charisma and confidence, we may dismiss quieter, more reflective leadership styles.
• If failure is seen as shameful rather than a step in learning, we may avoid risks that could lead to growth.

The challenge of meaning at an individual level is the same as at a cultural level:

• Which meanings do we accept without question?
• Which inherited meanings no longer serve us?
• How do we actively construct meaning rather than passively absorbing it?

How to Engage with Meaning as a Living Process

Question the Default Meanings.

• What do I assume is ‘true’ about success, leadership, or identity?
• Who shaped these definitions?
• What alternative meanings exist?

Interrogate Organisational Narratives.

• Does the stated purpose align with reality?
• Who gets to define what is ‘valuable’ or ‘professional’?
• Are there contradictions between meaning and practice?

See Meaning as Negotiation, Not a Fixed Truth.

• Meaning is always in motion.
• We can choose to challenge, reshape, and reimagine it.
• True leadership is not about enforcing meaning but creating space for multiple interpretations and deeper conversations.

Meaning is Not Given, It is Made

Unknowing showed us that certainty is an illusion. Meaning shows us that what we replace certainty with is a choice. We are always constructing meaning, individually, collectively, culturally.

The Fractured Lens asks us to see meaning not as something we discover, but something we co-create.

The next force we’ll explore is Belonging, because meaning does not exist in isolation. It is always tied to who we share it with, who we exclude, and where we feel at home.