The Science of Leadership

Abstract

The book opens with three separate chapters on the nature of high quality leadership (e.g., transformational leadership), the lingering question of whether leaders (and CEOs) really “matter”, and an explanation of how leadership works. Two chapters are then devoted to the longstanding debate as to whether leaders are “born or made”, and the effectiveness of leadership development interventions in organizations. No book on organizational leadership would be complete without a discussion of gender and leadership, ordestructive leadership, each of which is considered in detailed chapters. Three chapters unique to this book consider what can be learned from leadership in atypical work contexts (e.g., the political arena, schools, sports), explain the methods that researchers use to develop new knowledge on leadership, and challenge the traditional view of passive followership,offering in its place the view that leadership works best when followers are active participants in the leadership process. The book ends with a consideration of the social, political, and organizational implications of an evidenced-based knowledge of leadership, as well as what it means for everyday leadership behaviors.The science of leadership: Lessons from research for organizational leaders takes an evidenced-based approach, relying primarily on knowledge generated from psychological research on organizational leadership conducted around the world, with some personal reflections from two decades of involvement in leadership research and leadership development with executives.

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