Others influence the strategies that a school leader employs to make sense of an event. The presence of ‘others’ could be real, implied or even assumed. In a school context, different social groups may influence the school leader, such as parents, students, the school board, their regulators. The sensible meanings that a school leader conjures are likely to be those for which there is “social support, consensual validation, and shared relevance” (Weick, 2001, p. 461). These sensible meanings can also be influenced in ways school leaders enact their role, such as how much consensual validation and shared relevance the school leader seeks. This depends on the school leader’s own beliefs and capabilities about leadership. Weick provides a term for sensible meanings as ‘social anchors’. If the social anchors appear absent, that is the school leader has a diminished sense of being able to gain support from others, where consensus seems nigh or being hindered in being able to shore up any sense of relevance for others, then ‘loosening’ occurs. The leader then may feel isolated or distant from social groups and may lose a grasp of what is happening. When social anchors appear absent or disappear for the individual, the leader may feel isolated from others. The individual’s grasp of what is happening loosens.
When ambiguous and contradictory events occur in the school community, members expect their school leaders to make sense, at least with assistance and oversight of such events. Following Weick’s proposals that sensible meanings are founded on social support, relevance and validation, the school leader needs to know and understand the needs of their community members. Added into this mix is the state of existing relationships. School leaders who hold mutually positive and trusting relationships with their social groups, then sensible meanings are likely to be supportive, directional, and provide a sense of calm and hope to the community through such events.
Weick, K. (2001). Making Sense of the Organization. Maiden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Inc.
Leadership Threads 