Leaders' sensemaking under crises: Emerging cognitive consensus over time within management teams

When facing a crisis, leaders' sensemaking can take a considerable amount of time due to the need to develop consensus in how to deal with it so that vision formation and sensegiving can take place. However, research into emerging cognitive consensus when leaders deal with a crisis over time is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Leadership quarterly 2015-06, Vol.26 (3), p.307-322
Main Authors: Combe, Ian A., Carrington, David J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognitive content
Cognitive mapping
Cognitive models
Collective leadership
Leadership
Management of crises
Management theory
Mental models
Studies
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Summary:When facing a crisis, leaders' sensemaking can take a considerable amount of time due to the need to develop consensus in how to deal with it so that vision formation and sensegiving can take place. However, research into emerging cognitive consensus when leaders deal with a crisis over time is lacking. This is limiting a detailed understanding of how organizations respond to crises. The findings, based on a longitudinal analysis of cognitive maps within three management teams at a single organization, highlight considerable individual differences in cognitive content when starting to make sense of a crisis. Evidence for an emerging viable prescriptive mental model for the future was found, but not so much in the management as a whole. Instead, the findings highlight increasing cognitive consensus based on similarities in objectives and cause–effect beliefs within well-defined management teams over time.
ISSN:1048-9843
1873-3409
DOI:10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.02.002