Telos, Chronos, and Hermēneia: The Role of Metanarrative in Leadership Effectiveness through the Production of Meaning

Abstract

In this article, we argue for the existence of a relationship between metanarrative and leadership effectiveness that is mediated by personal meaning. After analyzing the relevant literatures, we present a model that attributes this relationship to the capacity of metanarrative to produce meaning through the interpretive frames of Telos (teleological context), Chronos (historicalnarrative context), and Hermēneia (interpretive context). We begin with a review of the leadership effectiveness literature followed by a discussion of the theoretical foundations of the concepts of meaning and metanarrative. From this review, we derive a set of propositions that describe the nature of the interrelationships among the constructs of interest and present a theoretical model that captures the proposed relationships. We conclude by suggesting several streams of research designed to evaluate the proposed model and with recommendations for further study.

Evaluating organizational quality through narrative: a case for accreditation using the school portfolio

“…Leaders rely on the language of storytelling to ascribe meaning to organizations through their communication (Fisher 1987, Littlejohn 1999, Eisenberg and Goodall 2004, leadership (Fleming 2001, Irving and Klenke 2004, Driscoll and McKee 2007, knowledge (Czarniawska 1997, Roth and Kleiner 1998, Stewart 1998, Zack 1999, research (Pack and Knight 2000), education (Abrahamson 1998, Breuer 1998Crossan et al 1999, Kaye and Jacobson 1999, Quong and Walker 1999, management (Morgan andDennehy 1997, Winter et al 1997), culture (Pink 2006), strategy (Barry and Elmes 1997, Lindstrom 1998, Holden 1999, reputation (Vendelo 1998), and technology (Metcalfe 1997, Friedman 2006, thus it influences the organization's reality. By influencing organizational reality by enhancing organizational quality through the language of organizational storytelling, leaders foment change (Gardner 1999).…”

Phenomenological Reduction and Emergent Design: Complementary Methods for Leadership Narrative Interpretation and Metanarrative Development

“…Thick description in interpretation can, therefore, provide the foundation for performing metanarrative research. It generates the meaning making necessary for understanding what leaders truly do to be effective leaders (Irving & Klenke, 2004), as during the process of leadership, “what is avoided in logic, turns up in practice!” (Tsoukas & Hatch, 2001, p. 996).…”

Leadership Formation: Interpreting Experience

“…Experience has long been seen to be an important source of leadership capabilities, and contemporary research continues to affirm this (see, for example, Benjamin & O'Reilly, 2011;Casey & Goldman, 2010;Ligon, Hunter & Mumford, 2008 Similarly, Irving & Klenke (2004) suggest that the interpretive integration of our experiences into our stories of ourselves develops our ability to construct meaning, an ability which is important for leadership effectiveness. DeRue et al (2012), DeRue & Myers (2014) and Reichard & Johnson (2011) help to explain how these leadership character and capability outcomes arise.…”

“…When processes of formation are extended over time and incorporate the arts and humanities, leaders are able to engage with each new experience more reflectively and thoughtfully (Cunliffe, 2009) because of their reflexive capacity for self-expression and character development (Irving & Klenke, 2004).…”