In this presentation, Erin Hawkins will explore how process-relational philosophy and complexity theory fundamentally challenge conventional understandings of leadership. Influenced by Whitehead’s process ontology and Edgar Morin’s philosophical framework of Complex Thought, Hawkins argues that leadership is not a property individuals possess but emerges from organizing practices that construct social realities and produce collective direction. Most organizations, whether businesses, nonprofits, educational institutions, or civic groups, operate on assumptions of fixed hierarchies, individual heroism, and strategic control that prove inadequate for navigating today’s interconnected crises. These assumptions reflect substance metaphysics and reductionist thinking. Process-relational perspectives offer an alternative: understanding reality as constituted by relationships in constant becoming, where transformation happens through persuasive invitation rather than coercive control, and where emergence must be organic rather than predetermined.

This presentation is an inquiry into how process-relational perspectives of leadership require changing the invisible structures that shape how groups make decisions, create together, learn collectively, and navigate uncertainty. Hawkins invites participants to reconsider not just how we understand leadership, but how we organize for transformation in an age of polycrisis.