Sensemaking

Sensemaking is the process by which people interpret and give meaning to events, information, and experiences, especially when situations are ambiguous or uncertain. It explains how individuals and groups construct a shared understanding that guides subsequent actions.

Sensemaking is a social activity that emerges through interaction. People observe cues, interpret them in light of their identities and prior knowledge, and negotiate meaning with others. Through this process, they enact environments and shape how events unfold.

Key ideas include identity, retrospection, enacting, ongoing nature, cue extraction, social context, and a preference for plausible rather than perfectly accurate explanations. Stories and narratives often help coordinate action by making complex or novel situations intelligible.

In organizations, sensemaking influences decision making, crisis response, and change management. Leaders and teams facilitate sensemaking through dialogue, framing, and sensemaking routines, while organizational structures can also constrain or distort interpretation. The concept emphasizes that understanding is constructed rather than merely discovered, and that interpretations can evolve as new information becomes available.

Critics note that sensemaking can produce biases, reinforce power imbalances, and delay decisive action in high-stakes settings if too much emphasis is placed on plausible narratives rather than data. Despite these concerns, sensemaking remains a central lens for studying how people navigate complexity in work, institutions, and everyday life.