08th November 2023
Guest Blog: Sensemaking and its Impact on Organisational Success
This guest blog is written by David Bellamy, Founder & CEO of Harkn, a real-time employee voice platform.
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, every organisation on the planet was engaging in sensemaking – whether they realised it or not.
We were all trying to make sense of a new reality and give structure to radically new ways of working, so collective sensemaking quickly became essential.
But it shouldn’t just be something we adopt at crisis point; sensemaking needs to be continuous and innate for powerful organisational success.
So, what is sensemaking?
There’s no single definition of sensemaking, but there’s a consensus that Gary Klein was along the right lines.
According to Klein, sensemaking is: “a motivated, continuous effort to understand connections (which can be among people, places, and events) in order to anticipate their trajectories and act effectively.”
You could be forgiven for thinking that sensemaking is a given in the workplace. Making sense of complex and ambiguous situations is just stuff we do every day, right?
Innate. Something you’re good at or not.
Well, perhaps not.
Sensemaking can certainly be spontaneous, driven by individuals’ natural inclination to make sense of their experiences, but where companies intentionally foster and encourage sensemaking, they unlock a serious competitive advantage.
In an organisational context, sensemaking is about working to collectively understand the unknown or unambiguous. When individuals better understand how wider circumstances affect them, their team, and the whole organisation, better decision-making and aligned action-taking result.
When you view sensemaking as a tool, it better equips your organisation to manage a whole host of scenarios. We’ve already talked about the pandemic, but these circumstances also spring to mind:
- Shifting market trends
- New technology
- Changing politics
- New regulations
- Organisational restructure
- Changing culture
- Climate change
The benefits of better sensemaking
At its simplest, you could argue that good sensemaking is about better decision-making. The more we can make sense of information, relationships, and situations, the more likely we are to make better decisions and manage risk. After all, context is king.
But there’s more wrapped up in the pursuit of effective sensemaking than decision-making alone.
Innovation and creativity flourish in environments that promote sensemaking. Actively seeking multiple perspectives, diverse experiences, and interdisciplinary collaborations opens you up to breakthrough ideas and novel solutions.
Collaborative sensemaking improves cohesion and productivity, too. When employees have a shared understanding of a situation it reduces confusion, enhances teamwork, and promotes alignment towards shared goals.
Organisations that prioritise sensemaking create a culture of continuous learning, where individuals and teams actively reflect on experiences, update mental models, and share insights. This facilitates upskilling, knowledge transfer, and the ability to adapt and innovate over time.
Where Harkn comes in
For sensemaking to thrive, you need the right environment, tools, and culture. The transparent, continuous dialogue at the heart of Harkn makes sensemaking a natural and ingrained part of your organisation. And, because it’s always on and always live, everyone can see exactly what’s working and what’s not.
How?
- Psychological safety
For sensemaking to be effective, you first need psychological safety. By enabling anonymised dialogue, we encourage more voices to speak without fear of retribution or unconscious bias. This unfiltered, honest feedback gives leadership and employees alike a much clearer picture of reality.
- Continuous context
Continuous context through real-time insights is essential to understanding organisational dynamics. This is invaluable for leadership, but it’s beneficial to everyone in your organisation. Understanding not just what’s happening, but why it’s happening, is essential for making better-informed decisions.
- Shared awareness
By unlocking more voices in your organisation, we create greater shared awareness. When people better understand the experiences, opinions, and feelings of their peers, they are armed with the context they need to start making sense of complex situations together.
- Aligned action
What do you get when everyone in your organisation can communicate with each other, in real time, and without fear? An increased ability to make sense of complex situations, continuous learning, and – crucially – aligned action.
Understand more about the importance of sensemaking and how Harkn can help in their full blog: “The Art of Making Meaning: Sensemaking and its Impact on Organisational Success.”