New book on leadership hailed as a ‘memorable rollercoaster ride’

Throughout the book the authors Richard Bolden, Jonathan Gosling, Beverley Hawkins and Scott Taylor attempt to answer key questions including:

• Are leaders born or made?
• Do different societies get the leaders they deserve?
• 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. The book explores how theoretical models and views of leadership have evolved over time, how leadership should be discussed from individual, organisational 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 recognised, 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.

Commenting on the book Manfred F R Kets de Vries, Clinical Professor of Leadership and Organisational Change, INSEAD, France, said, “The people at the Centre for Leadership Studies have done it again. In taking a critical, interdisciplinary, multilevel perspective on leadership, they take the reader on a rollercoaster ride that is memorable. By enabling more critical reflections on leadership theory, development and practice, this book is a must read for anyone interested in this highly complex topic.”

The book is being published by the Oxford University Press and can be ordered online via the OUP website.