This article aims to extend contemporary work on relational leadership theory by conceptualizing leadership as embedded in the everyday relationally-responsive dialogical practices of leaders. Relational leadership requires a way of engaging with the world in which the leader holds herself/himself as always in relation with, and therefore morally accountable to others; recognizes the inherently polyphonic and heteroglossic nature of life; and engages in relational dialogue. This way of theorizing leadership also has practical implications in helping sensitize leaders to the importance of their relationships and to features of conversations and everyday mundane occurrences that can reveal new possibilities for morally-responsible leadership. We develop and illustrate the notion of relational leadership by drawing on the work of Bakhtin and Ricoeur, and on an empirical study of Federal Security Directors.

A Model of Authentic Becoming that conceptualizes learning as a continuous and ongoing embodied and relational process, and uses social constructionism assumptions as well as Kolb's experiential learning model as its point of departure, is presented. Through a focus on the subjective, embodied, and relational nature of organizational life, the assignment presented in this article provides a structure to facilitate students becoming more effective and authentic organizational members and self-authors. Learning outcomes also include the development of self-understanding, empathy, and the ability to engage in practical reflexivity and self-reflection. Students incorporate organizational behavior concepts and theories meaningfully into their writing and lives. Additional learning and the improvement of the classroom learning environment are facilitated through students verbally sharing their assignments in class with one another.

This assignment provides a process to facilitate student engagement in practical reflexivity and self-authorship through which students develop the self-awareness that is required to be an authentic and effective leader. It facilitates the development of students’ personal leadership principles, which help guide their decision making and actions, and provides criteria on which to evaluate their leadership effectiveness. This facilitation of the development of students’ personal leadership principles is accomplished by having students first identify and clarify their values and beliefs and to consider the impact of these on their day-to-day organizational lives and leadership. By explicitly defining themselves in the form of their values and beliefs, students have a clear sense of self on which to base their authentic leadership. Their beliefs are expressed in the form of self-narratives. These self-narratives are shared as audio recordings with fellow classmates to facilitate students’ learning, self-understanding, and empathy.

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to give an account of a self‐evaluation process in a change programme within the US Coast Guard.Design/methodology/approachThis is an autoethnographical account as form of reflection on a leadership in position facilitating change within the organization.FindingsAdaptive organizational change is a human endeavor, not a scientific application of techniques and skills.Research limitations/implicationsThe authoethnography points mainly only to a change process of the writer and is therefore hardly an abstract model for others.Practical implicationsMeaningful organizational transformation does not occur without a corresponding self‐transformation, most importantly of the individual leading the change.Originality/valueChanging oneself by managing change process as a leader, one has to become the change process in order to be successful.

The Personal Leadership Conundrum leadership development project is a semester-long, personal leadership inquiry that provides students with a self-directed learning opportunity. The guiding framework for this leadership inquiry is a personal leadership conundrum developed by students based on their experience. Students engage in problem-based learning and reflect on their experience to develop a clear understanding of their conundrum and how they might resolve it in practice. The exercise provides a structure through which students can become lifelong learners. In addition to the students' personal development, through interviews conducted by the students with leaders, the project creates a community of inquiry into leadership within the institution and/or field that it is employed.