Leadership as Process: A Theory of Formal and Informal Organizing in Complex Adaptive Systems

Organization theorists have increasingly recognized the need to incorporate dynamic processes that include individual intentionality into theories of organizing. In particular, the leadership and human interaction aspects of organizing and their role in the development of organizational and managerial capabilities have been identified as an under researched area. This paper addresses this gap. Using complexity-informed theories of human interaction dynamics (HID), the paper defines leadership as the process that evolves organizational capabilities. More specifically, it describes three leadership processes that serve three system survival functions, and it identifies three mechanisms that operate locally to enable organizing through local interactions within a complex adaptive system. In sum, leadership evolves the ways in which individuals interact with one another to survive and prosper as collectives. It thus shapes the particular expression of dynamic, operating and managerial capabilities that emerge from these interactions within the ecosystem. Eleven propositions are averred.