The Power of Mattering: A Foundation for Flourishing

In his groundbreaking work, The Power of Mattering, Zach Mercurio presents a compelling case for why mattering—the belief that we are significant to others and the world around us—is one of the most fundamental human needs. This concept resonates deeply with my work as a Chief Flourishing Officer (CFLO) and the coaching services I provide, as mattering serves as the essential foundation upon which true flourishing is built.

Understanding Mattering

Mercurio defines mattering as the psychological experience of being valued, adding value, and being valued for adding value. It's not simply about feeling good or being appreciated; it's about knowing that our existence makes a meaningful difference in the lives of others and in the world at large. This three-part framework creates a powerful lens through which we can understand human motivation, engagement, and well-being.

The first dimension—being valued—speaks to our need for recognition and belonging. We all need to know that we are seen, acknowledged, and appreciated for who we are. The second dimension—adding value—addresses our fundamental need for purpose and contribution. We want to know that our actions, work, and presence create positive impact. The third dimension—being valued for adding value—completes the cycle by connecting recognition with contribution, creating a reinforcing loop of meaning and motivation.

The Link Between Mattering and Flourishing

Flourishing, as defined by positive psychology researchers like Martin Seligman and Barbara Fredrickson, goes beyond mere happiness or satisfaction. It encompasses a state of optimal functioning characterized by positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment—often captured in Seligman's PERMA model.

Mattering serves as the connective tissue that binds these elements of flourishing together. When we experience mattering, we naturally cultivate:

• Positive emotions: Knowing we matter generates feelings of joy, gratitude, hope, and contentment. The psychological safety that comes from mattering allows us to experience positive emotions more freely and frequently.

• Engagement: When we believe our contributions matter, we invest ourselves more fully in our work and relationships. This deep engagement is the hallmark of flow states and meaningful productivity.

• Relationships: Mattering is inherently relational. It strengthens our connections with others as we recognize our mutual significance and interdependence. Strong relationships, in turn, reinforce our sense of mattering.

• Meaning: Perhaps most powerfully, mattering provides the foundation for meaning. When we know our existence makes a difference, we discover purpose that transcends our individual concerns.

• Accomplishment: The drive to add value and be valued for it fuels our pursuit of goals and achievements that align with our deeper purpose.

Without a foundation of mattering, flourishing becomes difficult if not impossible. We may experience temporary pleasure or success, but sustainable well-being requires the deep-rooted conviction that we matter—that our lives have significance beyond ourselves.

Mattering in the context of the PERMA Model

Mattering in Organizations and Leadership

Mercurio's research reveals that mattering is not just an individual psychological need but a powerful organizational force. Leaders who create cultures of mattering see dramatic improvements in engagement, performance, innovation, and retention. When employees know they matter—when they feel valued, can add value, and are recognized for their contributions—they bring their full selves to work.

This insight is particularly relevant in today's workplace, where many organizations struggle with disengagement, burnout, and quiet quitting. These challenges often stem from a fundamental crisis of mattering. Employees don't just want to be productive; they want to know their productivity serves a meaningful purpose. They don't just want compensation; they want to know their work creates positive impact.

Traditional leadership approaches often focus on motivation through rewards and recognition, but these are insufficient without addressing the deeper need to matter. A bonus or award feels hollow if it's disconnected from genuine significance. In contrast, when leaders help people see how their work matters—how it contributes to something larger than themselves—they tap into a wellspring of intrinsic motivation.

How it fits into the Chief Flourishing Officer role

As a Chief Flourishing Officer, my work centers on helping organizations and individuals create the conditions for sustainable flourishing. The power of mattering is central to this mission. I help leaders and organizations:

1. Design Cultures of Mattering

I work with leadership teams to embed mattering into organizational culture at every level. This includes developing clear connections between individual roles and organizational purpose, creating recognition systems that celebrate meaningful contribution (not just performance metrics), and establishing communication practices that ensure every voice is heard and valued.

2. Develop Mattering-Centered Leadership

Through executive coaching and leadership development, I help leaders understand and practice the skills of creating mattering. This includes learning to communicate significance, making impact visible, connecting daily work to broader purpose, and fostering psychological safety where people feel they belong and can contribute authentically.

3. Build Individual Mattering Mindsets

In one-on-one coaching, I guide clients to recognize and cultivate their own sense of mattering. Many high-achievers struggle with imposter syndrome or a persistent feeling that they're not enough. By helping them see how they matter—how their unique contributions create value—I enable them to move from proving their worth to living their purpose.

4. Align Work with Flourishing

I help organizations redesign work itself to support flourishing. This includes job crafting exercises that help employees shape their roles to better align with their strengths and values, creating opportunities for meaningful contribution, and removing barriers that prevent people from doing work that matters.

From a Lack of Mattering to Flourishing

My coaching services are specifically designed to help individuals and teams move from a deficit of mattering to a state of flourishing. We connect the insights we gather along the way to Flow Science and the role they play to induce Flow States. This journey typically involves several key phases:

Discovery: Uncovering Your Significance

We begin by exploring how you currently experience mattering. Where do you feel valued? Where do you add value? Where is that contribution recognized? Often, people discount their significance or fail to see the full impact of their actions. Through reflective exercises and assessments, we illuminate the ways you already matter and identify opportunities to strengthen that experience.

How it’s conducive for Flow: Receiving feedback on how we’re doing and understanding our impact is an important precondition. It is the foundation of meaning and purpose.

Connection: Linking Purpose to Action

Next, we work to create clearer connections between your daily actions and larger purpose. This might involve clarifying your personal values, identifying your unique strengths, and mapping how your work creates ripples of positive impact. The goal is to help you see and feel how what you do matters in tangible, meaningful ways.

How it’s conducive for Flow: Increasing our sense of purpose, competence, and autonomy also increases the chances for getting into flow, and also improves our overall life satisfaction.

Amplification: Expanding Your Impact

Once you have clarity about how you matter, we explore ways to amplify that impact. This could involve developing new skills, taking on stretch assignments, building key relationships, or repositioning your work to create greater value. The focus is always on authentic contribution—not performance for its own sake, but meaningful action aligned with purpose.

How it’s conducive for Flow: Here we get to one of the most critical aspects, which is the so-called Challenge-Skills Balance. Meaning that we stretch ourselves just so much as to feel slightly uncomfortable, but not too much as to feel anxious, which will completely block flow.

Integration: Sustaining Flourishing

Finally, we work to integrate these insights and practices into sustainable patterns. Flourishing is not a destination but an ongoing process. I help clients develop habits, routines, and support systems that keep them connected to mattering even during challenging times. This includes building resilience, navigating setbacks, and continuously evolving their sense of purpose.

How it’s conducive for Flow: Flow States are expensive and draining to our biological systems. Therefore they also require intentional and structured recovery protocols.

Flow Catalysts: conditions and practices that increase the likelihood for getting into Flow States.

The Ripple Effect of Mattering

One of the most powerful aspects of Mercurio's work is his emphasis on the ripple effect of mattering. When we help someone experience mattering, they don't just flourish individually—they become conduits of mattering for others. Leaders who feel they matter create mattering for their teams. Employees who know their work matters engage more fully with customers and colleagues. Parents who experience mattering raise children who understand their significance.

This cascading effect is at the heart of my vision as a Chief Flourishing Officer. By helping leaders and organizations create cultures of mattering, we don't just improve individual well-being or organizational performance—we contribute to a broader transformation in how we work, lead, and live together. We create workplaces where people thrive, not just survive. We build organizations that don't just create profit, but create meaning.

Practical Applications

The connection between mattering and flourishing isn't just theoretical—it has immediate practical implications. Here are some ways these concepts inform my coaching and consulting work:

• Rethinking recognition: Instead of generic praise, I help leaders develop recognition practices that specifically communicate how someone's contribution matters. This means being concrete about impact and connecting individual actions to larger outcomes.

• Purpose conversations: I facilitate regular conversations where teams discuss not just what they're doing, but why it matters and for whom. These discussions create shared understanding of significance.

• Impact visibility: Many people don't see the full impact of their work because they're too far removed from end results. I help organizations create feedback loops that make impact visible and tangible.

• Belonging and contribution: I work with teams to ensure that belonging isn't just about social acceptance but about being valued for one's unique contributions. True inclusion means every voice matters.

• Values-aligned work: In individual coaching, I help clients identify their core values and find ways to express those values through their work, creating a direct line from personal significance to professional contribution.

The Chief Flourishing Officer Perspective

The role of Chief Flourishing Officer is novel, but increasingly necessary. As organizations recognize that human well-being and organizational performance are inextricably linked, they need leaders who can integrate these dimensions strategically. This role goes beyond traditional HR or wellness programs—it's about fundamentally reimagining how we create value through and for people.

Mattering provides the theoretical foundation and practical framework for this work. It's not enough to offer perks, benefits, or even development opportunities if people don't fundamentally believe they matter. Conversely, when mattering is present, even modest resources can support profound flourishing because people are intrinsically motivated to contribute and grow.

When workign with leaders, I serve as both strategist and coach, helping organizations develop comprehensive approaches to human flourishing while also working directly with individuals to support their personal growth and development. This dual focus ensures that cultural change and individual transformation reinforce each other.

Looking Forward: A Mattering Revolution

Mercurio calls for a "mattering revolution"—a fundamental shift in how we understand human motivation and well-being. I believe we're at a point where this revolution is not just desirable but necessary. The old models of motivation through carrots and sticks, or even purpose statements that remain abstract, are insufficient for the complexity and challenges of our time.

We need workplaces where mattering is designed into every system, process, and interaction. We need leaders who understand that their primary job is helping people see and feel how they matter. We need coaching and development that goes beyond skills and competencies to address the fundamental human need for significance.

This is the work I'm committed to as a Chief Flourishing Officer. It's challenging work because it requires rethinking deeply embedded assumptions about human nature, organizational effectiveness, and the purpose of work itself. But it's also deeply rewarding work because it taps into what we most fundamentally need as human beings—to know that our existence matters, that our contributions create value, and that we are valued for those contributions.

If you're a leader who wants to create a culture where people truly thrive, or an individual seeking to align your work with deeper purpose and significance, I invite you to explore how we might work together.

Because here's what I know for certain: you matter. Your work matters. Your contribution matters. And when you fully embrace and express that mattering, you don't just flourish—you help others flourish too. That's the ripple effect that can change organizations, communities, and ultimately, the world.

Let's create that change together.