Becoming a leader: A study with leaders in the public sector

Background:
Becoming a leader involves a learning and development process that can be physically and psychologically demanding. However, little is known about how individuals engage in sense-making throughout this challenging journey — both emotionally and cognitively — and how their interpretations of the leadership role evolve over time.

Goal of the study:
This study explores the evolution of public sector leaders’ sense-making about what it means to be a leader and the challenges involved. It examines how this process of constructing and reconstructing sense develops from their initial expectations before taking on a leadership role to their lived experiences while exercising it.

Method:
A qualitative, cross-sectional study was conducted using semi-structured interviews based on the Critical Incident Technique with 11 leaders from a public sector organization in northern Portugal. Data were analyzed using content analysis supported by NVivo (Lumivero).

Results:
Findings show that leaders’ sense-making about leadership changes over time. Initially, their understanding was idealized, centered on authority and decision-making. As they accumulated experience, resolved conflicts, and faced organizational and relational constraints, their sense-making shifted toward a more complex understanding of leadership as a relational, bounded, and emotionally demanding process.

Conclusion:
This study advances knowledge on leaders’ sense-making, experiences, and challenges in the public sector — a context marked by specific structural and cultural constraints. Understanding how leaders make sense of their roles and limitations is crucial to promoting adaptive development and well-being in organizational contexts.