Summary of Arguments

Thurlow and Mills’ (2015) article titled “Telling tales out of school: Sensemaking and narratives of legitimacy in an organisational change process” suffers from a case of ‘missing research problem’. Throughout the article, the authors seem preoccupied by providing context related to the case discussed. For a variety of reasons, the research problem is not clearly outlined. Nevertheless, this general research question was created to fit the article: What narrative elements, created by the CEO, viewed through the lens of critical sensemaking (CSM) led to the legitimation and plausibility of change narratives in the context of this Canadian college? 

Synthesis of the main arguments: (a) Identity construction and plausibility are essential to the sensemaking process. Identities affect everything, including the social construction of organisations. (b) Organisational change narratives tailored to a contextually specific and intentional sensemaking process make them legitimate (by narrative practices of legitimation), then plausible, and finally successful (Thurlow & Mills, 2015, p. 246). (c) Plausibility is built by key cues lining up between the change narratives of organisations and individuals. If the individual is taking in the cues that the organisation is communicating, then sensemaking will be easier. (d) ‘Narrative’ or in other words ‘the story’ is key to helping individuals understand their organisational experience and to seeing anything as trustworthy and viable. (e) External forces and power act on individuals as they attempt CSM. This is where the critical elements of CSM take effect. 

Theory Analysis

Theories Used & Connections to the Course

As it relates to theory, Thurlow and Mills highlight that plausibility is a key component of CSM (Thurlow & Mills, 2015, p. 248). CSM differs from sensemaking theory in that it considers systemic influences of power and provides methods for overcoming these forces. Considering such influences allows individuals to cut through barriers in order to deepen their understanding of their circumstances. 

Thurlow and Mills’ theory extended to include the key role that the CEO of the college played in skillfully leading the change process, by carefully constructing change narratives that were viewed as plausible (Thurlow & Mills, 2015, p. 246). 

The article relates to a variety of concepts and approaches discussed in the course (LHA3040, University of Toronto). (a) Sensemaking theory (Coburn, 2005) was the foundation of a significant portion of the literature review. (b) The CEO used some tenets of transformational leadership (Bush & Glover, 2014) in order to inspire various stakeholders. (c) As covered throughout LHA3040, the article gave another example of educational organisations as loosely coupled systems (Weick, 1976). 

Theoretical Connections to Research Problem and Methods of Data Analysis 

The authors put their theory into practice through qualitative interviews which examined organisational narratives of change in the context of a Canadian community college by using a CSM approach to illuminate how stakeholders come to terms with the change process (Thurlow & Mills, 2015, p. 246). The use of the theory helped the authors to address the research problem by concluding the particular change narratives employed by the CEO were: viewed as effective by the authors, primarily moralistic and authoritative, and lead to legitimation and plausibility within the organisation. 

Theory shaped the data analysis through slight bias which likely included the presupposed narrative of the two authors. This is not a criticism, bias is expected in academic research (Maxfield et al., 2021). The authors analysed the data in a way which outlines how the interview transcripts could be translated into plausible legitimation (Thurlow & Mills, 2015, p. 252). 

Addressing the Research Question

As stated previously, the research problem and question are lacking in this article. Therefore, this section looks through the lens of the research question that was created. In this instance, the authors address the research question in a reasonably convincing fashion. The strength of their arguments would be more effective if a greater sample size of data points was analysed (further explanation in the subsequent section). 

The theory presented in the article illuminates the following elements: (a) Research on the topic of power related to sensemaking is lacking. (b) Teaches about CSM and how it is both connected to and differentiated from sensemaking (Weick, 1995). (c) Stories help to create realistic pictures of change and serve to proliferate the vision of the CEO. 

In contrast, the theory is missing the following elements: (a) The previous experience of the CEO, which led to him becoming a compelling and narrative focused leader, could have been discussed further. (b) How positive relational capital was built between the CEO and the members of the organisation. This process typically takes time and intentionality when considering new leadership. More examples of how this is done could lead to more leaders emulating this success. (c) The steps and strategies that the CEO undertook to lobby the province for funding. 

Assessment of Argument

The concept of the article is simple. The authors delve into the literature in significant depth in order to explain the success of the CEO. An admirable level of depth considering the article is derived from a single case. Sadly, pages 246 – 248 are laid out in a manner that makes the reading inaccessible to those without a strong understanding of academic writing. For those who can understand, the concept is valuable. As is typical in academic literature, the article lacks practical application. It would benefit from a simple flow chart like the one in Figure 1. 

Figure 1

Leader extracts key cues → Leader creates meaningful narrative → Individuals use critical sensemaking → Narrative is perceived as legitimate (or not) → Narrative is perceived as plausible (or not) → Benefits the process of organisational change (or not).

Numerous criticisms exist for Thurlow and Mills (2015). The following are the highest on the list of contention:

• The sample size is too small. Involving one case, of one school, with one transformative leader. The arguments of the authors would be bolstered by drawing from other cases, of other schools, and other leaders. 
• The subject of culturally responsive leadership (Johnson, 2014) was not discussed. Culturally responsive leadership could have added context to the case and increased the applicability therein. 
• Outside opinions of the identity of the organisation were mentioned in relation to sensemaking. These elements seem as though they were added as an afterthought during the peer review cycle. The points do not contribute enough to the main arguments in order to warrant inclusion. 

The greatest strength of the article by Thurlow and Mills (2015) is the literature review section, which provides background information for the audience. The article does not inherently present widespread practical applications. Situations of similar context and leadership style to that found in the article notwithstanding. Further application of the article is possible for leaders who analyse and translate it into their context.

References

Bush, T., & Glover, D. (2014). School leadership models: What do we know? School Leadership & Management, 34(5), 553–571. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2014.928680

Coburn, C. E. (2005). Shaping Teacher Sensemaking: School Leaders and the Enactment of Reading Policy. Educational Policy, 19(3), 476–509. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904805276143

Johnson, L. (2014). Culturally responsive leadership for community empowerment. Multicultural Education Review, 6(2), 145-170.

Maxfield, C. M., Thorpe, M. P., Koontz, N. A., & Grimm, L. J. (2021). You’re biased! Deal with it. Journal of the American College of Radiology, 18(1), 161-165.

Thurlow, A., & Helms Mills, J. (2015). Telling tales out of school: Sensemaking and narratives of legitimacy in an organizational change process. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 31(2), 246–254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2014.10.002

Weick, K. E. (1976). Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems. Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 21, pp.1-19.Weick, K. E. (1995). Sensemaking in organizations (Vol. 3). Sage.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. It was a pleasure spending time with you today.

Peace & Blessings, 

– Josiah