Bringing Relationality into Leadership Research: A Multi-Paradigmatic Conversation

Bringing relationality into leadership research is one of the most pressing issues facing leadership researchers today. Practitioners and consultants operate in increasingly complex and interrelated worlds that are not adequately described by our linear and deterministic models of leadership. It is time to broaden our discussion about leadership and leadership process in organizations—we must move beyond talk to action. The purpose of this symposium is to convene a panel of prominent scholars to engage a multi-paradigmatic conversation around how to take the next steps in relational leadership research: how to move beyond dialogue by focusing on specific research questions and designs that can advance relational leadership research. The discussion will be organized around: (a) the questions that need to be addressed, (b) the obstacles in addressing them and how we can overcome them, and (c) identification of key next steps we should take to advance multi-paradigmatic work on relational leadership.