Essential Insights: Discursive Leadership

Essential Insights is a virtual learning series offered through the Assistant Provost for Corporate Relations and the Office of Alumni Relations, created for professionals navigating a rapidly evolving world of work.

“Discursive Leadership” is the notion that leadership is not a personal trait or position, but an ongoing practice enacted through communication. Leadership emerges in everyday interactions—how we frame issues, listen, respond, and make meaning with others—especially in moments of uncertainty, tension, and change. This session develops leadership capacity across three integrated dimensions: knowing, doing, and being.

The knowing dimension focuses on conceptual frameworks that explain how communication shapes leaders’ influence and coordination. Doing emphasizes practical skills for navigating conversations, framing complexity, and acting effectively. Being centers on embodied enactment, including presence, emotional regulation, and self-awareness.

Together, these dimensions help participants learn to lead more intentionally through how they communicate and manage themselves in real-world contexts. By shifting focus from who a leader is to what a leader does, participants gain a more accessible and actionable understanding of leadership.