Memories and Narrative Construction
There continues to be a good deal of research about the importance of story in leading an organization. Some thoughts about this revolve around the understanding that narratives are powerful because they are stories. They are the stories we tell about ourselves that fix our place in time and link our memories with events. They bring coherency to our experiences1 and help us create meaning.2 When our stories are woven into a comprehensive narrative, they become the way we know ourselves and our larger society3 as well as the main source of knowledge in our organizing.4
The narrative of everyday life is a timing of activity in an attempt at making sense of our experiences. It provides rhythm to the social order5 and through it we relate what is past to what is present, organizing the experience of time into a personal history6 (Richardson, 1990). Richardson said,
People organize their personal biographies and understand them through the stories they create to explain and justify their life experiences. When people are asked why they do what they do, they provide narrative explanations. It is the way individuals understand their own lives and best understand the lives of others. (p. 126)
Collective Identity
In forming these narratives, our memories refer to events that are known and verifiable, the same memories that provide us a sense of personal coherence and integrity. In effect, they help form the basis of our personal identity9 and make change of our identity (something we choose to do) perceived differently than change to our identity (something forced upon us).10
Organizational identity is a combination of member’s individual narratives with the narratives and myths of the organization. It represents what an organization does, enables its members to locate themselves and their place in the world, and reflects the underlying values, assumptions, philosophies, and expectations of organizational life.11 The result is that the organization becomes a unique expression the individual identifies with, even to the extent that self-esteem can be intimately connected to the organization’s identity.12 Taking this concept and applying it the members in the “Blue Chair” story makes it possible to see why what the members held corporately was also held personally. In other words, these were organizational narratives because they were also personal narratives.
At issue in leading organizational change is the leader’s appreciation for the lived experiences of members and the practices they have privileged. It is not a slavish confinement to honor everyone’s story but those that result in the practices for which the organization is known.
1 Bojea, D. & Rhodesb, C. (2005). The leadership of Ronald McDonald: Double narration and stylistic lines of transformation. Leadership Quarterly, 17, (1), 94-103.
2 Polkinghorne, D. (1988). Narrative knowing and the human sciences. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
3 Denzin, N. (2000). Narrative’s moment. In Andrews, M., Sclater, S., Squire, C., & Treacher, A. (Eds.), Lines of narrative: Psychosocial perspectives. London: Routledge.
4 Brown, A., Humphries, M., & Gurney, P. (2005). Narrative, identity and change: A case study of Laskarina Holidays. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 18, (4), 313-326.
5 Patriotta, G. (2003). Sensemaking on the shop floor: Narratives of knowledge in organizations. Journal of Management Studies, 40, (2), 349-354.
6 Richardson, L. (1990). Narrative and sociology. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 19, (1), 116-135.
9 Fivush, R., & Neisser, U. (Eds.), (1994). The remembering self: Construction and accuracy in the self-narrative. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
10 Lundberg, C. (1999). Organizational development as facilitating the surfacing and modification of social rules. In Pasmore, W., & Woodman, R. (Eds.), Research in organizational change and development. Volume 12. Stamford, CT: Jai Press.
11 Hopkins, A., Hopkins, W., & Mallette, P. (2005). Aligning organizational subcultures for competitive advantage. New York: Basic Books.
12 Brown, A., Humphries, M., & Gurney, P. (2005). Narrative, identity and change: A case study of Laskarina Holidays. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 18, (4), 313-326.
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