Abstract
What a peculiar privilege has this little agitation of the brain which we call ‘thought’. David Hume (1711–1776)
Edinburgh, as the city of the enlightenment, provides an ideal setting for debates and discussions about important new directions for research into leadership and leadership development. The 15th International Studying Leadership Conference (ISLC) invites proposals for paper presentations related to the general theme, Rethinking Leadership Research. We intend for this theme to generate a broad range of presentations, discussions and exchanges related to the study and practice of leadership and leadership development in a wide range of organisational and institutional contexts.
Given the world in which we live, has leadership as a concept outlived its usefulness? Is the underlying assumption of hierarchy, selective application, linearity and rationality in traditional leadership theory and concepts any longer appropriate? In an environment of ambiguity, doubt, distrust and risk where wicked problems increasingly dominate are we witnessing the end of business-as-usual? In an era where ‘crisis’ seems constitutive, how are taken-for-granted or relied-upon leadership processes and precepts threatened or breakdown, presenting an opportunity to question existing knowledge, understanding or practices (Mabey and Morrell, 2011)? Indeed, to what extent has the social construction of crises undermined calls for more collective and progressive versions of leadership, such as post-heroic, spiritual, authentic or distributed, and led to a regression to the more familiar and still dominant heroic, individualistic, directive and coercive approaches based on formal positions of authority (O’Reilly et al., 2015)?
What, in other words, will leadership and leadership research look like in the 21st century? Are our models of leadership irredeemably broken and in need of reinvention? And if so, on what basis and in what way does that reinvention take place? Can we develop alternative frameworks which move away from ideas of individual agency and control, and take into account the power relations that shape the more emergent processes of organising and change? In this conference we seek to explore what it means to go beyond leadership, as we currently understand it, and rethink the basis for, conduct of and implications drawn from leadership research. To that end, we are interested in papers that explore answers to these issues from a range of perspectives. Polyvocality and heterogeneity, even heterodoxy, will be welcomed. Criticality and challenge will be celebrated, as will dialogue between the old and the new perspectives. Specifically, we are interested in papers, workshops and round-table proposals that explore these issues:
Invitation
The conference organisers welcome conceptual and empirical contributions that address the significance of these issues for the wider domain of leadership studies, identifying their main contours, and indicating emerging challenges. The aim of the conference is to encourage a rethinking of leadership studies and to interrogate what this might mean for contemporary theory and practice.
We are pleased to announce that at least one special issue, titled “Rethinking Leadership Research” will be published in the journal Leadership. In line with the journal's policy of inclusivity, papers exploring alternative new directions are also welcomed.
We invite proposals related to the theme, Rethinking Leadership Research. Proposals are welcome in the form of papers, workshops, round-tables or PhD posters, drawn from a wide range of disciplinary and methodological perspectives. Proposals of no more than 1,000 words should be submitted by
For further information on the conference and to upload submissions visit: www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/islc/
Conference Fees
We look forward to welcoming you to the 15th International Studying Leadership Conference, 11–13 December 2016 in Edinburgh!