Humanistic Organizing: The Transformative Force of Mindful Organizational Communication

Town, Sophia; Reina, Christopher S.; Brummans, Boris H. J. M.; Pirson, Michael

doi:10.5465/amr.2021.0433

Cited by 3 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…To this end, we propose using holistic, inclusive language when describing members' places in the organization, as well as allowing all parties to have a voice. Communication should recognize context during decisions related to hiring and retention (Town et al, 2024). Similarly, we advocate foregrounding connections, cultivating reflective listening, and prioritizing empathetic language between managers and employees, and between peers when communicating about membership (Way and Tracy, 2012).…”

Section: Cultivating Wise Communication In Practicementioning

confidence: 98%

“…While CCO theory has long explained how organizations evolve through communication, research has only begun to theorize "how changing the nature or quality of communication can produce a shift in the nature or quality of organizing" (Town et al, 2024). We build on this work to explain how wisdom can be braided into the fabric of service systems.…”

Section: The Communicative Constitution Of Wise Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wise "institutional positioning" in service systems Institutional positioning reflects communication activity that situates the organization within its broader environment (McPhee and Zaug, 2009). When an organization comes into being, it becomes interdependently related to the context, field, and industry within which it operates (Town et al, 2024). Thus, messages between the organization and other service systems, including formal and informal communication, define its position in the service landscape.…”

Section: Cultivating Wise Communication In Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…As humanity grapples with these challenges, there is a growing need for service research that cultivates wiser service systems. Business leaders and scholars are increasingly calling for responsible business practices, research, and education (Fisk et al, 2020;Town et al, 2024;Adame et al, 2021;Piedmont et al, 2023). At the service system level, wisdom can be defined as "the capacity to put into action the most appropriate behavior for an organization, taking into account what is known and the legitimate concerns of its various stakeholders" (Rowley, 2006(Rowley, , p. 1252.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Business leaders and scholars are increasingly calling for responsible business practices, research, and education (Fisk et al. , 2020; Town et al. , 2024; Adame et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cultivating wiser service systems through communication

Moulton-Tetlock,

Town,

Rafieian

et al. 2024

JOSM

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PurposeOur purpose is to offer the service research field a framework for cultivating wiser service systems via wise communication–which we define as “interactional activity that reflects and reifies the integrative, practical, and relational nature of organizations.”Design/methodology/approachWe draw on the Communicative Constitution of Organizations (CCO) theory to integrate insights and findings from three primary research fields – service, communication, and organizational science – to develop a framework for cultivating wiser service systems through wise communication.FindingsOur framework identifies three major components of wise communication: integrative, practical, and relational. These components require that wise communication be “holistic,” “dynamic,” and “constitutive” (the integrative component); “active,” “contextual,” and “pragmatic” (the practical component); and “compassionate,” “open-minded,” and “humble” (the relational component). We use illustrative examples from healthcare to show how these nine characteristics enable wise communication practices that facilitate wiser service systems.Practical implicationsOur framework provides helpful ways to organize and inspire insights into cultivating wiser systems. This framework identifies the theoretical components of wise communication and specific communicative actions that system members can implement to shape wiser service systems.Social implicationsWiser service systems are necessary to tackle humanity's complex social, economic, and environmental challenges.Originality/valueWe propose a novel framework for cultivating wiser systems centered on wise communication. This framework contributes new insights into theory and practice. The application of CCO theory to service systems is unique. Our article is also an early example of adding normative context to the CCO literature. While wisdom literature primarily focuses on aspects of individual wisdom, we broaden the wisdom literature to service systems.

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Section: Cultivating Wise Communication In Practicementioning

confidence: 98%

Section: The Communicative Constitution Of Wise Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cultivating Wise Communication In Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Business leaders and scholars are increasingly calling for responsible business practices, research, and education (Fisk et al. , 2020; Town et al. , 2024; Adame et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Cultivating wiser service systems through communication

Moulton-Tetlock,

Town,

Rafieian

et al. 2024

JOSM

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Through the Narrows: The Meaning and Enactment of Interpersonal Holding

Kahn

2024

Organization Science

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Helping practices that focus on returning members to their work tasks amid significant distress do little to attend to how they may be severely hindered by their own self-limiting responses to that distress. The focus of this study is on helping that attends to individuals limited in their responses to distress—individuals who inhabit, metaphorically, the narrows, a place of diminishment in which individuals are made smaller by accessing only specific parts of their selves. Through in-depth interviews with professionals working with individuals suffering from various distressing conditions, events, and situations, I develop generalizable theoretical insights about interpersonal holding as a specific form of helping dedicated to surfacing, expanding, and integrating aspects of individuals’ selves that have receded amid distress. The findings indicate a sequence of holding behaviors marked by three overlapping phases: holders coming alongside, linking up with, and guiding individuals in distress through narrowed intrapsychic spaces. This sequence is enabled, first, by the availability of individuals to interpersonal holding and second, by aspects of the holders that stabilize them during the complicated work of attending to the agentic selves of others. The study contributes to both the evolution of scholarship on distress helping in the context of resilience, loss, and role distress and to theory about interpersonal holding.

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