Sensemaking View on Servant Leadership in Crisis Discourse

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34190/ecmlg.20.1.2949

Keywords:

Leadership, Sensemaking, Crisis, Change management, COVID-19, Servant leadership

Abstract

This study is based on leadership in crisis time - a panel discussion after 62 leaders’ discussions in various workshops. Analysing the data through the sensemaking typology for organisations - using sensemaking typology (Sandberg & Tsoukas 2020) and coming up with servant leadership theory offers a fresh and welcomed view in servant leadership study - revealed how servant leadership and especially the readiness to shift in sensemaking helped to overcome the crisis. The leaders used the four typologies: immanent, involved-deliberate, detached-deliberate, and representational sensemaking in various ways for a servant purpose. For example, seeing the personnel with new eyes and allowing them to act freshly, lowering barriers, and bringing others’ potentiality to use helped to tolerate crisis. To demonstrate, leaders with detached-deliberate sensemaking found a new direction and valued co-work whereas when acting with the immanent sensemaking they held on to routines and kept the focus on the basic task. In brief, the servant-first attitude was emphasized for the leadership to be willing to set oneself in use as well as create an atmosphere where others can work on their best and emerge from others capabilities for them to serve the common good.

Author Biographies

Heini Kesti, University of Lapland

Heini Kesti is PhD student in social sciences at the University of Lapland. Her research focuses on leadership, especially participation, change, and development. Heini has Masters’ degrees in Administrative Sciences and Theology (studies in Rovaniemi, Helsinki, Tübingen). She has worked as a theology teacher, student chaplain, chaplain, and vicar.

Ville Pietiläinen, University of Lapland

Ville Pietiläinen is a senior lecturer in leadership psychology at the University of Lapland, Finland. His research approaches professional organisations as dynamic and complex systems. The main research questions revolve around co-creative space and interaction dynamics, which he studies from discursive psychology and phenomenology perspectives.

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Published

2024-11-13