Sensemaking is, I believe, a fascinating area of study with useful applications in leadership. It is a retrospective process (Weick, 1995; Hopkinson, 2011) in which people use their prior knowledge and their context to help them make sense of new information. This is turn helps them to build up new mental models. As individuals interpret events in their own way, the prior knowledge available to them is always going to be unique to each person; two people can be in the same room but perceive the scene differently. We use the same mental models over and over again (Beck and Plowman, 2009) so when things happen in a routine, predictable way we can rely on our prior knowledge to help us know what to do; we instinctively make sense of the situation. For example, if a child behaves in a certain way, teachers can call upon their prior experiences to help them handle the situation and be fairly confident that they can predict the outcome.
However, when there is disruption to our thinking that causes our mental models to falter or fail, we feel unsettled (Corley and Gioa, 2004) and that disruption causes us to engage in sense making. We search for anchors located within our prior knowledge, experiences and context to help us understand the new situation. This active process is sensemaking; it results in us making new mental models that fit the new context and it is created by using what we already know to interpret the new information (Holt and Cornelissen, 2014). We make sense of information within the context we are situated (Weick et al, 2005) so understanding the context is key (James et al, 2019). Leaders must situate any change within their reflection and understanding of the context; just because something has worked in one school doesn’t mean it will work in another.
As leaders, we know that organisations have a history and that you cannot separate the two. The history will influence how people make sense of situations (Brown et al, 2015) and it is crucial to be aware of the history before making any alterations to the organisations. It is important to reflect upon the context and to anticipate what disruptions to people’s thinking may be caused by the new information based on their existing mental models. This requires sophisticated thinking by leaders as you are essentially trying to anticipate what colleagues will be using as their anchors to make sense of the disruption to their thinking (Rouleau, 2005) that you are causing. However, if a leader is able to make sense of the position their colleagues are likely to be working from, they can provide some guidance and scaffolds to support their thinking; this would serve to reduce cognitive load and make it easier for them to engage in their own sensemaking. This process is known as sensegiving whereby you construct a framework for others to use for their own sensemaking (Weick, 1995). Interactions are a key aspect of this (Rouleau, 2005) – the language you use to convey new information directly influences the sensemaking of the listener and therefore leaders should be mindful of the language they use.
This all requires a lot of sophisticated thinking by leaders; not only do they have to make sense of situations themselves, they have to consider how their colleagues may react to new ideas, information and initiatives. Leaders have to engage in action but it is crucial that leaders give themselves time to think; sitting still and thinking may feel like inaction but in reality, it is reflecting and thinking that underpins the success of all actions that are taken. Sometimes thinking will lead to nothing being done as sometimes doing nothing is the best course of action. If leaders harness their knowledge of sensemaking then they can be confident they have considered their decisions within their context and that is powerful. Sensemaking can be conscious or unconscious (Rouleau, 2005); we all instinctively do it but having an awareness of sensemaking means leaders can actively engage in it to create/strengthen their mental models. I believe that having an awareness of our internal cognitive systems can help us to develop as thoughtful, sensitive and effective leaders who have a positive impact on outcomes for our students.
I am mindful, however, of the potential limitations of sensemaking theory into practice. Leaders are only human and they will not always have the emotional bandwidth or resilience to think at such a strategic level. Schools are busy organisations and sometimes leaders have to make quick decisions to solve a problem in the fastest way which might not always be the most elegant way. In my experience having an awareness of leadership theory makes me a better leader but when circumstances mean the theory doesn’t pan out in practice, it doesn’t mean I have become a worse leader, it means I am human.
References
- Beck, T. and Plowman, D. (2009). ‘Experiencing Rare and Unusual Events Richly: The Role of Middle Managers in Animating and Guiding Organization Interpretation.’ Organization Science. Vol.20, No.5.
- Brown, A., Colville, I. and Pye, A. (2015). ‘Making Sense of Sensemaking in Organization Studies.’ Organization Studies. Vol. 36.
- Corley, K. and Gioia, D. (2004). ‘Identity Ambiguity and Change in the Wake of a Corporate Spin-of’. Administrative Science Quarterly. Vol 49.
- Holt, R. and Cornelissen, J. (2014). ‘Sensemaking Revisited.’ Management in Learning. Vol. 45, no. 5.
- Hopkinson, G. (2001). ‘Influence in Marketing Channels: A Sense-Making Investigation.’ Psychology and Marketing. Vol. 18 (5).
- James, C., Connolly, M. and Hawkins, M. (2019). ‘Reconceptualising and Redefining Educational Leadership.’ International Journal of Leadership in Education. w
- Rouleau, L. (2005). ‘Micro-Practices of Strategic Sensemaking and Sensegiving: How Middle Managers Interpret and Sell Change Every Day.’ Journal of Management Studies. Vol. 42 (7).
- Weick, K. (1995). Sensemaking in Organizations. London: Sage.
- Weick, K., Sutcliffe, K. and Obstfeld, D. (2005). ‘Organising and the process of sensemaking.’ Organization Science. Vol. 16. No. 4.
Creating Cognitive Classrooms 