Leadership : classical, contemporary, and critical approaches

What is leadership? Are leaders made or born? Are the characteristics and challenges of leadership the same across time and cultures? Do leaders 'pull' or are they 'pushed'? Are leaders driven by needs that may be dysfunctional to the organizations they lead? Do women leaders behave differently from men? Should we look for models of business and organizational leadership in military organizations? These are all just some of the questions posed in this Reader which includes key statements from classical philosophy (Plato, Sun Tzu, Machiavelli) through to modern management writers (Barnard, Kets de Vries, Fiedler, Rosener). The collection will be invaluable to students and managers taking a range of courses in business management and leadership training. In his Introduction, Keith Grint both surveys current thinking on leadership and provides an excellent `road map' of the readings which are grouped under five headings: Classical, Traditional, Modern, Mythical, and Alternative.