Sacralizing leadership: The role of the sacred in enabling organizational sensemaking,cohesion,and identity

Abstract

This article provides a sociological description and application of the sacred for use in the study of leadership. It provides a definition and theory of the sacred, derived from the field of sociology, appropriate for the secularized study of leadership and organizational culture. The sacred is understood as a naturalistic (instead of supernaturalistic) phenomenon which pertains to an individual’s felt experience of connection to the larger collective whole. This article shows how the sacred upholds organizational sensemaking, cohesion, and identity, while also being essential for the social construction of the concept of leadership itself. The sacred provides individuals with a collectively constructed interpretive framework which results in a deeply held respect and confidence in the organization. One outcome of this system is that the organization’s leadership configuration seems morally justified and the organization’s narratives are legitimated. The sacred system is also a mechanism which enables individuals to interpret organizational symbols in alignment with other people in their organization. As both a theoretical and practical contribution to the fields of leadership, management, and organizational studies, the article provides insight into how a sociological theory of the sacred might assist scholars and practitioners in creating new counter-normative systems of leadership. It also outlines possibilities for further study with particular attention toward ritual and performance studies.