Sensemaking and New College Presidents: A Conceptual Study of the Transition Process

This study examines the sensemaking processes of new college presidents to understand how they develop plausible, working descriptions of the campus and come to understand their role. Semi-structured interviews were completed with 18 presidents who were organizational outsiders and first-time presidents. As newcomers, presidents were found to act as “lay ethnographers,” make different descriptions of sensemaking based on the organization’s size and complexity, and rely on peers and mentors to reduce uncertainty. Several barriers to sensemaking also emerged. This study contributes to the understanding of administrative leadership and advances the theoretical perspective of sensemaking (Weick, 1995).