Sensemaking, storytelling and the legitimization of elite business careers

an article by Mairi Maclean (University of Exeter Business School), Charles Harvey (Newcastle University) and Robert Chia (Strathclyde Business School) published in Human Relations Volume 66 Number 1 (January 2012)

Abstract

This article examines elite business careers through the dual lens of sensemaking and storytelling as recounted in life-history interviews with business leaders. It explores how they make sense of, narrativise and legitimate their experiences of building their careers within and beyond large organizations. The research contribution is twofold.

First, we explicate the sensemaking processes embedded within the multifarious stories recorded in life-history interviews, identified as locating, meaning-making and becoming.

Second, we contribute to the literature on legitimacy by examining how business leaders use their storytelling as a vehicle for self-legitimization, (re)framing their accounts of their own success and justifying their position to themselves and others.

In a world where reputations are hard won but easily lost, business leaders must nurture a life-history narrative which is socially desirable if their careers are to remain on track. This may serve them well through the creative evolution of their organisational journeys.

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