The stories that leaders tell during organisational change : the search for meaning during large-scale transformation

Abstract

Change has become the norm as knowledge economy organisations aim to build agile people, process, and technology practises to ensure future sustainability. Leaders have been criticised due to the inability to manage sustainable and meaningful change that will navigate the future success of the organisation. The research will explore leaders’ stories during an organisational change journey in order to determine the story type and subsequent meaning associated with leadership stories during organisational transformation. The research utilised a qualitative narrative inquiry research design to explore multiple leadership stories. Thematic network analysis was used to explore the themes identified within the leaders’ stories and to identify the themes of meaning evident beneath the surface. The research findings contribute to the field of Organisational Psychology by providing leaders with a framework for navigating sustainable change journeys, and explore current leadership practices that contribute to the high rate of current organisational change failures.