Abstract
Each week I receive a plethora of e-mails from various academic publishers detailing their latest offerings in the Leadership domain. Occasionally I check out the texts, and sometimes I even order the odd inspection copy, but more often than not, I delete the message concluding that the book in question offers little new in comparison to others on the market. In relation to this textbook, ‘Leadership: Contemporary Critical Perspectives’ edited by Carroll, Ford and Taylor, what first influenced me to order an inspection copy was the title which underlined the importance of contemporary issues and leadership, but moreover when I read the summary and outline content, the chapters appeared to promise something new and fresh in relation to how we study and teach leadership. What particularly attracted me was the promise of obtaining new and up-to-date case studies, examples and illustrations from sectors and arena as diverse as politics, business, sport and the arts, which could potentially enrich my teaching and inform my research.
In terms of organisation and content, the edited text contains 13 chapters featuring contributions from 16 authors and has three main sections: (1) Classical Theories of Leadership, (2) Leading in Context and (3) Contemporary Perspectives. The more critical and original tone of the textbook is clearly established in the introduction from the editors where they propose the most vital aspect of leadership – understanding how leaders source and ultimately exercise power is critiqued. It is telling that in this introduction, the editors signpost their intentions and ambitions for the book by illustrating key theoretical underpinnings and state that ‘we think that the idea and practice of power is a key way to understand leadership as a position, as an act and as an academic subject’ (p. xxv). Also in their introduction, a useful critical contextual overview relating to leadership power in terms of traditional, radical or post-structural terms is given. However, what is perhaps more useful here is the way that theoretical aspects are also given a more practical slant. For example, an interesting piece of practical advice is given to readers’ courtesy of an illustration of how the famous British Politician Tony Benn thought about the power issue and leadership by always asking a series of questions of ‘leaders’ he encountered including ‘what power do you have?; where did you get it?; in whose interests do you exercise it? To whom are you accountable? and how can we get rid of you?’
In terms of content, in the first overarching section, perhaps unsurprisingly, we are treated to a series of chapters which cover the more traditional and enduring debates and theoretical perspectives in the field such as Leadership versus Management; Trait and Contingency theory as well as Transformational Leadership. However, it would be incorrect to say that these chapters follow the conventional terrain surrounding these issues. For example, in Chapter 1, while the enduring debate regarding leadership versus management is covered very well by Donna Ladkin, there is an interesting section relating to social constructionism, which advocates that the importance of understanding ‘how we create our own understanding of how the world works’ will have a major bearing on who we view as leaders and how successful we feel they are at their roles. Setting a precedent that continues throughout the book, the topical example of G. W. Bush and his response to the 9/11 crisis is used to show that our perception of leader effectiveness is linked to the type of problem (tame, wicked or critical) that the leader is faced with – in this case Bush’s response of declaring war was considered an appropriate one to what could be considered an extremely ‘wicked’ problem.
In Chapters 2 and 3, what might be considered familiar leadership terrain is covered by Scott Taylor and John Cullen, respectively. In Chapter 2, although many of the key concepts and theories centring upon the ‘great man’ debate are critically evaluated, with an interesting discussion on gender in leadership and the lack of female CEOs in the UK organisations, Taylor takes readers in a different direction with his discussion on neuroscience in leadership studies. In this section, the work of Lindbaum and Zundel (2013) is noted, and Taylor does a good job in summarising their concerns about the biological direction which some researchers have taken in leadership studies. In Chapter 3, where the important issue of leadership contingencies is explored by John Cullen, key issues introduced in the previous chapter are revisited. Most notably, there are good sections on the dangers of the positivist tradition and ‘reducing’ leadership to a list of traits. To illustrate the dangers of the universalistic approach, the example of leadership in the well-known airline Ryanair is used to illustrate that business leaders have to think very carefully about the context in which they find themselves and what kind of leader will work best in different circumstances. This chapter proceeds to take readers through the most often cited contingency leadership theories such as Fieldler’s (1967) theory of leadership effectiveness, path goal theory, the situational theory from Hersey and Blanchard and the Leadership – Participation Style model. These theories are all discussed in a critical way which is particularly useful for those who might want to use this textbook as a core text. Cullen also does a good job in emphasising that although contingency theories may have somewhat gone out of fashion in comparison with more contemporary areas relating to transformational and transactional leadership, they have contributed greatly to the area, by refocussing attention on the importance of understanding followers in the leadership effectiveness conundrum.
The final chapter in this first section on classical leadership by Delaney and Spoelstra covers an area heavily written about leadership during the past three decades – Transformational Leadership. Following a very logical route, the reader is presented with a number of sections which discuss the meaning of transformational leadership, how transformation might happen, is transformational leadership desirable and how it might be constructed. In all these sections, attempts are made to offer a critical perspective on the issue and try to dispel some of the stereotypical beliefs that transformational leaders are inherently good for followers or organisations. This chapter also contains interesting and thought-provoking sections related to charisma and transformational leadership and the religious dimension of transformational leadership. In relation to the charismatic dimension, the authors are at pains to point out that charisma should not be painted in a ‘one sided’ positive way illustrating with some good examples (e.g. CEO Skilling at Enron) that charismatic leaders can often be quite dangerous rule breakers who are determined to dispense with the ‘business as usual’ by bringing in a more disruptive style of leadership.
There are four chapters in the second section of the book under the ‘Leading in Context’ banner. In terms of material needed for teaching in this area, it is good to see that these chapters cover the essential elements for any leadership module relating to Leadership Development (Chapter 5 by Brigid Carroll), Leadership and Strategy (Chapter 6 by Annie Pye) and Followership (Chapter 8 by Nancy Harding). However, when I read the contents page my eye was drawn to Chapter 7, authored jointly by Ananda Sinclair and Michelle Evans on Difference and Leadership. Written in a rather unconventional and conversational style, this chapter might not, at first glance, be considered particularly salient for those engaged in teaching leadership, but after reading the dialogue that unfolds between the authors, it is clear that the issues of diversity and difference in leadership are extremely relevant in today’s workplace. For example, there is a fascinating section with many takeaways for students and practicing managers on ‘approaches to doing leadership in ways that honour and sponsor difference’, with useful advice to leaders on the need for cultural intelligence as well as a clear understanding of the issues connected to gender, women and leadership. This essential issue of gender and leadership is discussed in some depth and is complemented by two case studies which emphasise many points, the most salient of which is based upon the experience of former Victoria Police Chief – Christine Nixon, who confronted the issue of gender head-on in her swearing in speech stressing that as a woman she had many qualities, which might be stereotyped as ‘female’ orientated such as caring and compassion, but that in her view these would enhance and not hinder her effectiveness in that role.
In terms of the other chapters in this section of particular note is Hardy’s discussion of ‘followership’, which utilises several innovative ‘stop and reflect’ activities as well as case studies based upon media and film which invite readers to reflect critically on the leaders they have experienced, and how their behaviour as a follower influenced the situation. Interesting case studies also feature in the other chapters in this section, with a five-part case (Williams and Wright plc) used in Chapter 6 to illustrate the issues of strategic leadership and to demonstrate the increasing importance of governance in organisations. Meanwhile in Chapter 5, a case study which calls for a high degree of reader participation is utilised well to illustrate pertinent issues relating to leadership development.
The final section of the book is devoted to contemporary perspectives relating to leadership and includes five relatively short chapters on issues such as ‘Relational Leadership’, ‘Leadership without Leaders’ and ‘Leadership, Post Structuralism and the Performative Turn’. Of these, I found the chapter by Lucia Crevani on Relational Leadership interesting and rewarding. The W. L. Gore case study provided a useful platform for introducing relational leadership and the sections on practising it, and the concepts of framing, positioning, bridging and resonating are described in a way that readers could potentially use in their everyday personal or professional lives. Of the other chapters, the thought-provoking contribution by Neil Sutherland discussing scenarios where leaders may not be needed is worthy of note. In his chapter, Sutherland takes readers through various concepts including social movement organisation (SMO) and anarchistic organisation before attending to the issue of critical leadership studies, and how various writers in this field have sought to challenge common assumptions. To this end, there are good discussions on the ‘dark side’ of leadership and how the movement from ‘domination to collectivity’ help us understand how certain organisations (SMOs and anarchistic organisation) function without individual, permanent and stable leaders. To illustrate these concepts and encourage readers to reflect upon what this all means in practice, a case study which exposes collectivism in a ‘Radical Student Group’ is included.
To conclude this review, in terms of the aspects that first attracted me to the book – ‘different’ case studies and insights from sectors, one would not normally find in such texts – in general I was not disappointed. The diverse set of case studies and other features in the book, including the ‘stop and reflect’, ‘leadership on the screen’ and ‘definition’ boxes were useful, and I think given some assistance from tutors, students would really gain from the experience of engaging in the activities laid out. Perhaps some of the media and film examples were slightly obscure (see reference to American Beauty in Chapter 12) and sometimes asked a little too much of students (unless tutors are prepared to guide them). However, in general, the case studies were accessible and based upon familiar individuals from whom we can learn a lot (Steve Jobs (United States), Tony Blair (United Kingdom) and Julia Gillard (Australia)), and I found these to be generally excellent. Overall, I found the chapters in this book to be both thought-provoking and innovative, and I think it is timely contribution to the field of leadership studies. There is no doubt that it is a refreshingly different leadership text which will be a useful addition to any reading list for modules or courses on the subject, and to this end, I now utilise it in my teaching for MBA and final year undergraduates.