Making Sense of Leaders’ Exits: Extending Exit Socialization Research through Sensemaking

ABSTRACT

Changes in leadership are common in organizations, bringing about change and uncertainty for remaining organizational members. Organizational exit research commonly examines exit experiences from the perspective of exiting organizational members. We utilize sensemaking theory to explore remaining organizational members’ experiences surrounding a leader’s exit, thereby contributing to and extending this body of literature. We collected narratives from 53 participants who experienced a leader’s exit using a qualitative online survey. Results of our thematic analysis identify two important sensemaking experiences: learning about the leader’s exit and using cues to anticipate the future. Our discussion includes theoretical implications for sensemaking theory, organizational socialization, and studying remaining member experiences as a part of the organizational exit process.

KEYWORDS:

• Organizational exits
• leader exits
• organizational socialization
• sensemaking
• organizational member experiences
• qualitative methods

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Associate Professor Dr. Sarah E. Riforgiate and three anonymous reviewers for providing helpful feedback for improving this article.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. All authors are based in the U.S. and U.S. citizens were recruited for this study. The findings from this study should be considered in respect to where the data were collected; future research may explore individual experiences of leaders’ exits in other countries and/or cultures.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emily A. Godager

Emily A. Godager (M.A., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) is a PhD student in the Department of Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her research concentrates on topics in organizational communication, including organizational socialization and intersections of work and life.

Michael C. Coker

Michael C. Coker (M.A., Texas State University) is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His research focuses on marginalized and understudied experiences as they relate to communication technology and organizational communication.

Benjamin L. Davis

Benjamin L. Davis (M.A., Northern Illinois University) is a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and currently the Assistant Director of Forensics at Truman State University. He primarily researchers identity, influence, and politeness in interpersonal processes.

Kari J. Pink

Kari J. Pink (B.A., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) is a master’s student in the Department of Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her research focuses on organizational communication. She works full time as director of marketing and communications, donor relations at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.