Leadership as a Temporal Abstraction: A Conceptual Reflection

Integrating the temporal dimension of reality into the philosophical foundations of leadership theory remains a challenge. To address this challenge, this conceptual article uses the process-philosophical concept of the event to explore ways in which to reframe understanding of leadership by taking time seriously. It builds on existing work, particularly the research conducted by Ladkin and Wood, by highlighting two implications. Firstly, the process philosophy of the event makes it possible to conceive of leadership as a fluid phenomenon that essentially serves as an abstraction derived from concrete influential events. Secondly, and relatedly, leadership as a temporal abstraction is relational in at least three respects.