ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a case study of large system change in the call centre of a utility company, in which a combination of planned and emergent change resulted in substantial business improvement as well as a mix of anxiety and personal development for some of its leaders. The instability stirred up by the crisis and amplified by some interventions became a potential space for finding new ways of working. The backlog of many thousands of outstanding bills created some sense of instability, further enhanced by the threat of a regulator deadline. Sense-making helps people to turn their experiences into something intelligible, and reduces ambiguity. Sense-making between people with various roles and levels in particular can mobilize the organization. Sense-making thus contributed to the organization's ability to contain itself, and amplified some of the patterns that could emerge in the potential space of bounded instability.
