Bøker i Elements in Leadership-serien

Beginning with the belief that the study of leadership belongs to all and to no one in particular, the author offers 27 stable and unchanging elements for the study of leadership, and collects them under four themes: context, shared purpose, language, and human agency. He (a) argues that the rational interest in making our world a better place cuts across all academic disciplines/boundaries, (b) grounds the quest for an integrated theory of leadership in the Desire for Shared Agreement, and (c) offers the possibility that this Desire as a Governing Standard can potentially unite the multiple approaches to leadership studies.

There is presently a view that accessible technologies offer an inclusive and humanistic expression of technology. They do. But that is not all. Accessible technologies offer more than this: they contain within them lessons on transformational leadership. Through examining six case studies the reader will begin to interpret these accessible technologies as expressions of leadership. The risk inherent in the current view is that to view accessible technologies only as examples of humanism, or the good, is to risk underselling them. In fact, accessible technologies (which are being created across international society) represent a powerful leadership approach to technology itself. Through their leadership, these accessible technologies demand and create new and original thinking by society. The reader will benefit from this Element by learning to identify transformational leadership within accessible technological creations and consequently gaining a capacity to apply this leadership to the very purposes of technology itself.

Creativity, the generation of novel and useful ideas, and innovation, the transformation of these ideas into new products, processes, and services, are both critical for the long-term viability, profitability, and growth of organizations. Moreover, the complex, risky, and uncertain nature of innovative efforts demonstrates the importance of organizational leaders to effectively manage the innovative process. In this element, we discuss the role of leaders in effectively facilitating the creative problem-solving process that gives rise to innovative products, processes, and services. More specifically, we highlight the knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to effectively lead across three integrated facets of this process-leading the people, leading the work, and leading the firm. This discussion promotes an understanding of how leaders manage those asked to engage in innovative efforts and, moreover, how leaders systematically integrate creative ideas within the organization to ensure the development and success of innovative products, processes, or services.

The charismatic, ideological, and pragmatic (CIP) theory of leadership has emerged as a novel framework for thinking about the varying ways leaders can influence followers. The theory is based on the principle of equifinality, or the notion that there are multiple pathways to the same outcome. Researchers of the CIP theory have proposed that leaders are effective by engaging in one, or a mix of, three leader pathways: the charismatic approach focused on an emotionally evocative vision, an ideological approach focused on core beliefs and values, or a pragmatic approach focused on an appeal of rationality and problem solving. Formation of pathways and unique follower responses are described. The more than 15 years of empirical work investigating the theory are summarized, and the theory is compared and contrasted to other commonly studied and popular frameworks of leadership. Strengths, weaknesses, and avenues for future investigation of the CIP theory are discussed.