Exploring Leadership: Individual, Organizational, and Societal Perspectives

by Richard Bolden, Jonathan Gosling, Beverley Hawkins

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, practicing leaders, leadership development consultants, and policy makers.

Genres: Leadership

232 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 2011

Reviews

[Jeff]

Exploring Leadership: Individual, Organizational & Societal Perspectives is an excellent overview of the state of leadership research and its role in scholarship, business and organizations, etc. I read this text approximately four years after the completion of my masters degree in strategic leadership and just prior to the start of my doctoral studies in executive leadership.

This text is not written like a traditional textbook, though it does present the research behind the factual information discussed. It is written as more a non-fiction essay about leadership. Its accessibility is its strength.

For anyone interested in brushing up on their leadership studies knowledge (or for those who are looking to build a little leadership studies knowledge), this text is a good start.