Authentic leadership : clashes, convergences and coalescences
edited by Donna Ladkin, Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University, UK ; Chellie Spiller, University of Auckland Business School, Auckland, New Zealand
'Congratulations! The authors have created a volume that goes beyond the platitudes and reductionism of most of the leadership literature. The heroic is put in its place as they show how leadership is a relationship and that meaning and social values such as authenticity emerge from that relationship and the context in which it occurs. This book is an important step in the direction of a more comprehensive understanding of leadership that can help to shape the future dialogue.' (Russ Volckmann, Integral Leadership Review). -- 'Authentic leadership is far too important a construct to be consigned to the leadership buzzword scrapheap. This engaging collection not only provides a compelling critique of how this idea has been developed and applied to date but invites a broader and constructive engagement from leadership scholars who recognise leadership as a profoundly relational process. The editors are to be congratulated for crafting such a cogent and coherent collection of leadership essays.' (Brad Jackson, The University of Auckland, New Zealand). -- The majority of authentic leadership literature focuses on the individual leader. However, the authors in this volume expertly focus on the premise that leadership is a relational phenomenon and not something that can be distilled down to the actions of one leader, be they authentic or not. What is authentic leadership? Does it require a leader to express his or her true self even if that true self is less than 'wonderful'? How do followers know the difference between real and fake leaders anyway? What happens when cultural expectations of what constitutes authenticity clash? Can a leader be 'authentic' within virtual contexts? International scholars and practitioners from the fields of philosophy, sociology, psychology, leadership, business and the arts address these and other provocative questions, often with surprising results, in this cutting-edge update of the theory and practice of authentic leadership. This book updates, critiques and extends the theory of authentic leadership in a way that will prove invaluable for academics and graduate students in leadership studies. Human resource practitioners or individuals who are responsible for leadership development within their organizations will also find plenty of invaluable information in this important book.
