How does a leader perform, i.e. shape, her organization? Communicative Constitution of Organizing (CCO) approaches describe leadership either as a combination of microprocesses and influential acts, or as human and nonhuman agency, that give shape to organizations. This paper seeks to bridge the gap between these two approaches to provide a comprehensive understanding of leadership as a necessary coupling of processes and socio-material devices. Based on a longitudinal case study of a video game developer, this paper explores the emergence of a singular leader’s vision. We study the operational translation and deployment of this vision in the organization through three stages of performativity, both successes and failures. We contribute to debates on CCO and leadership by showing the role of translators and trainers in coupling the leader’s vision to its socio-material presence, as well as the importance of device density.
