Meaning Making and Management Action

This research suggests that management styles are shaped by developmental stage, that is, by the way the individual makes meaning of his or her world. Subjects were 49 MBA alumni and students, all of whom held full-time positions in a variety of organizations. Managers at later developmental stages, measured by Loevinger's Sentence Completion Test, were more likely to redefine problems on an in-basket exercise than to accept them as presented. The data also indicated, though less clearly, that later-stage managers were more likely to act collaboratively. Implications are offered for leadership theory and management development.