Leadership-As-Practice: Appreciation, critique and future directions

Sliwa, Martyna, and Case, Peter (2024) Leadership-As-Practice: Appreciation, critique and future directions. In: Knights, Daved, Liu, Helena, Smolovic-Jones, Owain, and Wilson, Suze, (eds.) The Routledge Critical Companion to Leadership Studies. Routledge Companions in Business and Management . Routledge, New York, NY, USA, pp. 160-171.

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View at Publisher Website: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003363125-15
 
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Abstract

This chapter addresses Leadership-As-Practice (L-A-P): a perspective on leadership that, rather than focusing on individual leaders and followers, draws attention to the importance of collective practices and sociomateriality in leadership processes. It emphasizes the potential of leadership for building more democratic and just organizations, institutions, and societies. The chapter is underpinned by the argument that, notwithstanding L-A-P's continuing positive role within broader leadership scholarship, the time is now ripe to engage in a critical appraisal of this approach and outline constructive directions for its future development. The view of L-A-P presented combines appreciation and critique. The chapter begins with a brief overview of L-A-P before offering a critical discussion that considers: 1) the historico-geographical positioning of the intellectual development of L-A-P in the Western, post-war, post-colonial context; 2) the limited empirical applications of the L-A-P approach to contexts where values of democracy and collective decision-making do not prevail; 3) questions of agency and power within L-A-P, and the need for examining inequalities with regard to the unfolding of leadership practice. Possible future directions for the development of L-A-P are considered in the concluding part of the chapter.

Item ID: 83314
Item Type: Book Chapter (Research - B1)
ISBN: 9781003363125
Copyright Information: © 2024 selection and editorial matter, David Knights, Helena Liu, Owain Smolović-Jones, and Suze Wilson; individual chapters, the contributors. Authors may upload the AM chapter to a OA university repository after an embargo period of 18 months for HSS books.
Date Deposited: 07 Aug 2024 01:33
FoR Codes: 35 COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES > 3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour > 350709 Organisation and management theory @ 100%
SEO Codes: 28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280106 Expanding knowledge in commerce, management, tourism and services @ 100%
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