Abstract
“In a crisis character proves itself” (Helmut Schmidt)—and so does the culture of an organization. Is it of support also in difficult times? Does pressure amplify its positive aspects or rather the dysfunctional ones? This case report addresses a nursing division within a university hospital, particularly its leadership culture that was recently “stress tested” by the COVID-19 pandemic. To the relief of those involved, the situation revealed a solid foundation and the positive force of a division-wide culture of shared leadership. Our contribution to this special issue of the journal Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. (GIO) reflects upon a leadership development process of five years, which supported the emergence of an adaptive and community-oriented leadership practice capable of constructively coping with complexity, permanent change and various tensions. Core elements of this process were regular large group workshops that provided spaces for resonance, reflection and experimentation and fostered the building of trust and connectedness. We first recapitulate significant steps and contents of this process and then examine impact factors and determinants of success by drawing on interviews with participating leaders. This is followed by an engagement with theoretical perspectives on questions of meaning in relation to leadership and a consideration and discussion of the case example against this background. In that we focus on such approaches that look at meaning phenomena as transsubjective and collective and our article advocates against considering meaning detached from the communities in which it emerges. We conclude with a résumé and outlook in view of a reorganization in the context of this case study.