Who Leads, Who Follows? Critical Review of the Field of Leadership Studies

Abstract

This article surveys the field of leadership studies from its inception as ‘Great Man’ historical analysis strongly influenced by Thomas Carlyle and by Max Weber’s classic work on the concept of charisma in his theorizing of ‘authority’ within the modern bureaucratic state. Both approaches require careful deconstruction. The Weberian approach is still of relevance to the consideration of underlying political theories of leadership. The article surveys and reviews the formation of the field by reference to trait studies and leadership development and education before mentioning ‘School Leadership For Social Justice, Equity and Diversity’. The next section of the paper focuses on the contemporary paradigm of transformational leadership and the attendant notion of ‘the policy context’ of New Public Management and the Creative Economy as the defining context for creative leadership. The next two sections introduce the feminist critique of leadership studies and what has become known as ‘critical leadership studies’. Finally, the paper considers leadership in the twenty-first century by reference to three moments: (i) multipolarity and the production of global public goods; (ii) the biodigital future; and, (iii) the ecological-systems model of leadership. A brief postscript considers crisis leadership for post-apocalyptic survival.