Proprioceptive Sensemaking: A Relational and Developmental Account of Leadership and Coaching in Complex Organisations

Leadership unfolds in organisational contexts characterised by uncertainty, interdependence and ongoing change. While organisational sensemaking research explains how organisational meaning emerges through interaction, less attention has been given to the developmental capacities through which leaders become aware of their participation in these interpretive processes. Drawing on organisational sensemaking, organisational learning, constructive-developmental theory and David Bohm's concept of the proprioception of thought, this article develops proprioceptive sensemaking as a developmental account of how leaders may become increasingly aware of their participation in the emergence of organisational meaning. This article then presents the Proprioceptive Sensemaking Coaching framework as one practical implication of this account and discusses its contribution to contemporary coaching theory and practice.