Leadership: A Very Short Introduction

Citation

Murphy, A. (2012), "Leadership: A Very Short Introduction", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 33 No. 5, pp. 519-520. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj.2012.33.5.519.1

This small‐format and stylishly produced book is one of as series of 300 very short introductions published by Oxford University Press since 1995. The promotional text claims the series is written by experts and designed for anyone wanting a stimulating and accessible way into a new subject. The apparent simplicity of this description belies the degree of craftwork involved in producing any sophisticated primer for a general readership, even if the topic is a well‐worn one such as leadership.

The author is a professor in the University of Warwick, so much is expected in terms of both craft and content. The book is carefully introduced, clearing up meanings and definitions of leadership as used in the book, posing questions for the reader and anticipating subsequent chapters. The glossary at the end allows the first chapter to be suitably light on definitions and explanations.

The idea of “tame” and “wicked” problems which require leadership in response are nicely illustrated early on with familiar, contentious topics such as global warming and the range of political and ideological stances the subject provokes. The complexity of ideas develops quite quickly in the early chapters with useful figures and diagrams, and with real‐world examples taking the reader into a micro‐history of public leadership paradigms over the last century. A readership working from a western Europe‐US worldview would find the examples familiar and useful. How familiar and useful they might be to readers from the wider Europe, from Asia, the Middle East and Africa is another question.

Because the content moves quickly from organisational theory and the dynamics of leadership into quite complex areas of leadership psychology in a western sense, it might be useful to ask if the eventual intention is predominantly didactic rather than analytical? There is a slight discomfort with the strength of positionality in the final chapter. There is an underlying sense of a worldview where “good” leadership can be defined, produced, promoted and perhaps imposed in a world where individual freedom is both a desire and a terror!

I found the content of the book to be an enjoyable read overall as a well as being thought‐provoking and challenging in spots. In addition it would be remiss of a reviewer not to again stress the craft of the author as a communicator and teacher, dealing with complex topics for an unknown and probably very diverse readership. It is a very useful book for many training and development context and one which I intend to draw upon in the future.