Exploring Leadership Individual, Organizational, and Societal Perspectives

by Bolden, Richard; Gosling, Jonathan; Hawkins, Beverley; Taylor, Scott

• ISBN13: 9780199547661
• ISBN10: 0199547661
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-09-25
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Are leaders born or made? Does each society get the leaders it deserves? How - and why - is leadership 'rhetoric' different from leadership in reality? Leadership is one of the most talked about yet least understood concepts in current business and society. This book explores how theoretical models and views of leadership have evolved over time, how leadership should be discussed from individual, organizational, and societal perspectives, and the perennial dilemmas and emerging perspectives of leadership. Positioning its discussion within a multidisciplinary framework that touches on management, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, history, literature, and politics, this book examines and critiques the common assumptions that inform the ways in which leaders and leadership is recognized, rewarded, and developed. It provides a valuable and thought-provoking overview for students and academics interested in leadership and management, practising leaders, leadership development consultants, and policy makers.

Author Biography

Dr Richard Bolden, Dr Beverley Hawkins, Professor Jonathan Gosling, and Or Scott Taylor are ail faculty members at the Centre for Leadership Studies, University of Exeter Business School, UK.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Boxes	p. xi
Author Biographies	p. xii
Acknowledgements	p. xiv
Introduction: Exploring Leadership	p. 1
Not 'Another' Book on Leadership!	p. 1
Leadership: The Panacea of our Times?	p. 4
Changing Perspectives on Leadership	p. 6
Studying Leadership	p. 7
Dissatisfaction with Leadership and Management Theory and Education	p. 10
Reframing Leadership Studies	p. 13
Chapter Summary	p. 15
Theoretical Perspectives on Leadership	p. 17
The Contested Nature of Leadership	p. 17
Philosophical Origins of Contemporary Leadership Theory	p. 20
Leadership is Sexy and Management is Boring... or are they?	p. 23
Contemporary Theories of Leadership	p. 25
So, What is Leadership?	p. 38
Chapter Summary	p. 40
Individual Perspectives on Leadership	p. 42
Leadership and Personality: What are Leaders LIKE?	p. 42
Leadership Styles and Behaviours: What do Leaders DO?	p. 46
Leadership and Identity: Who do you Think you are?	p. 49
Keeping it Real: The Implications of Authentic Leadership	p. 53
Are You Sitting Comfortably? Leaders as Storytellers	p. 56
Leading from the Heart? Leadership and Emotions	p. 59
Just Another Set of Traits? Critiques of Authentic and Emotionally Intelligent Leadership	p. 64
Chapter Summary	p. 65
Organizational Perspectives on Leadership	p. 67
Leadership and Organizational Performance	p. 68
Leadership and Power	p. 73
Leadership Competencies: The Science of Leadership	p. 78
Setting the Direction: Strategic Leadership	p. 84
Rites, Rituals, and Belonging: Leadership and Organizational Culture	p. 91
Setting the Scene: Putting Leadership into Context	p. 96
Researching Leadership in Organizations	p. 99
Chapter Summary	p. 100
Societal Perspectives on Leadership	p. 102
Being 'One of us': Leading in Communities	p. 102
Being Global, Being Local, and Being Worldly	p. 112
Saving Our Planet and Ourselves: Leading for Sustainability	p. 116
Beauty and Aesthetics in Leadership: Cultural Leadership	p. 123
When 'Leadership' isn't the Answer	p. 127
Chapter Summary	p. 137
Emerging Perspectives and Enduring Dilemmas in Leadership	p. 139
Why can't a Woman Behave like a Man? Leadership and Gender	p. 140
Leaders Make me Sick! Leadership and Toxicity	p. 144
Being Absent, Being Present: Leadership in a 'Virtual World'	p. 148
The Social Responsibility of Business is... Leadership and Morality	p. 152
Leading into a Meaningful Future: Leadership and Spirituality	p. 157
Chapter Summary	p. 164
Conclusion: Where Next for Leadership Studies?	p. 166
Leadership, Society and the Next Ten Years	p. 166
Preparing for an Uncertain Future	p. 168
Many Perspectives but no 'Right' Way of Looking at Leadership	p. 170
Rerouting our Enquiries	p. 171
Moving Forward with an Eye on the Past	p. 182
Chapter Summary	p. 183
Reference	p. 184
Index	p. 207
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