Moments that connect: Turning points and the becoming of leadership

Abstract

This article introduces turning points – fleeting moments of change – to suggest one way of studying collective leadership which allows to unpack moments that connect and explore how co-action unfolds. How can co-action and collective leadership processes be studied without falling back on individual-centric methods? To answer the question, I link Gergen’s work on responsive interplay to the study of leadership as the seeking of direction in the production of a space for co-action. I use empirical material from SocialORG to develop a leadership trajectory which shows how participants come together, on the one hand, to define a space for co-action that embodies both past experiences and projections for the future and, on the other to achieve co-action through different ways of relating. The three interrelated objectives of the article are: first, to demonstrate how matters of concern become matters of collective engagement. Second, to move the focus of inquiry from single instances towards the leadership process across time and conceptualize the individual as relational being, shifting away from individualist theorizing. Third, to discuss the inner workings of the methodology to encourage its replication and highlight immersion into the empirical setting to identify turning points.