Formative, not extractive: how critically reflexive research can make a difference

What if the most important route for scholarly impact was not what we write, but instead who we are and what we do? And what if our being and doing are both shaped by our learning and formation as researchers? In this article I explore how critical researchers, committed to reflexive practice in their work, can have significant scope for personal impact through three routes. The first route is through the work of education, which impacts directly on current and future practitioners. The second route goes by way a transformational approach to the work of reviewing and editing, which has widespread impact on the field. The third route is connected to taking on leadership roles, which allows reflexive researchers to show how their practice can inform and shape leader work in positive ways. Going further, I propose that personally relevant reflexive research provides the best formation for such routes to impact, and highlight potential directions for such projects.