The New Psychology of Leadership

Shortlisted for the British Psychological Society Book Award 2011! Shortlisted for the CMI (Chartered Management Institute) Management Book of the Year Award 2011--2012! According to John Adair, the most important word in the leader's vocabulary is "we" and the least important word is "I". But if this is true, it raises one important question: why do psychological analyses of leadership always focus on the leader as an individual -- as the great "I"? One answer is that theorists and practitioners have never properly understood the psychology of "we-ness". This book fills this gap by presenting a new psychology of leadership that is the result of two decades of research inspired by social identity and self-categorization theories. The book argues that to succeed, leaders need to create, champion, and embed a group identity in order to cultivate an understanding of 'us' of which they themselves are representative. It also shows how, by doing this, they can make a material difference to the groups, organizations, and societies that they lead. Written in an accessible and engaging style, the book examines a range of central theoretical and practical issues, including the nature of group identity, the basis of authority and legitimacy, the dynamics of justice and fairness, the determinants of followership and charisma, and the practice and politics of leadership. The book will appeal to academics, practitioners and students in social and organizational psychology, sociology, political science and anyone interested in leadership, influence and power.

ISBN 1841696102   Pages 296 ISBN13 9781841696102 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 453 Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd   Published in Hove Imprint Psychology Press Ltd   Height (mm) 234 Format Paperback   Width (mm) 156 Publication date 01 Jun 2007   Spine width (mm) 15 DEWEY 158.4   Academic level Undergraduate, Postgraduate DEWEY edition DC22   Alternative ISBN 9781841696096

		List of figures
		List of tables
		Foreword
		Preface
		Acknowledgments
1		The old psychology of leadership: Great men and the cult of personality		1
		Leadership in history: The "great man" and his charisma		2
		The political decline of the "great man" approach: The impact of the "great dictators"		5
		The standardization of leadership: Personality models and their failings		7
		The biographical approach: Looking for the roots of greatness in personal histories		10
		The theoretical deficiency of individualistic models		12
		The political deficiency of individualistic models		14
		The faulty definition of leadership		16
		Conclusion: Five criteria for a useful psychology of leadership		17
2		The current psychology of leadership: Issues of context and contingency, transaction and transformation		21
		The importance of context and contingency		22
		The importance of followers		28
		The importance of that "special something"		38
		Conclusion: The need for a new psychology of leadership		42
3		Foundations for the new psychology of leadership: Social identity and self-categorization		45
		Social identity and group behavior		46
		Social identity and collective power		60
		Defining social identities		64
		Conclusion: Setting the agenda for a new psychology of leadership		73
4		Being one of us: Leaders as in-group prototypes		77
		The importance of standing for the group		78
		More...

"The book abounds with historical, political, and organizational examples and anecdotes that breathe life into the concepts and arguments and make them resonate with the reader, providing some entertainment in the process. ... The New Psychology of Leadership: Identity, Influence and Power thus has something new to say on one of the most widely researched topics of all time. This is no small accomplishment. It also speaks to a broad audience, creating a theoretical space for researchers from many disciplines to forge collaborative conversations about collective action and effective leadership, which is another significant accomplishment. It will be worth your time to check out this book." - Caroline A. Bartel, University of Texas at Austin, USA, in Administrative Science Quarterly "This exciting book ... argues that leadership is not about mastering the 10 or 20 decisive traits that drive change and success, but about "the followers" -- about engaging them to work with the leader to develop the organisation's goals and aspirations. ... What I like about this book, and why I will recommend it to anyone interested in leadership, is how the science of leadership is mingled in a readable way with historical and modern-day examples. It is a must-read for those seeking a different approach to the "five ways to success as a leader" type of book." - Cary L. Cooper, Distinguished Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health, Lancaster University Management School, UK, in the Times Higher Education "An illuminating perspective on leadership. ... This book debunks the myth of a specific set of stereotypical leadership qualities." - Alan McLean in the Times Educational Supplement (Scotland) "The New Psychology of Leadership is written in an accessible style, and logical structure. It goes beyond social and organisational psychological accounts, which, so far, have fallen short of explaining leadership and followership comprehensively. By identifying key principles that provide insight in the ways leaders lead followers, the authors cover new territory for social and organisational psychologists. This sets an exciting and new research agenda for years to come. ... Without doubt, this book will become regarded as a landmark text, and it has the potential to dramatically change our understanding of leadership in the years to come." - Frank Mols & Jolanda Jetten in The Psychologist "'New Wine; New Bottle.' Citing over 400 empirical studies and texts on leadership spanning 170 years from 1840--2010, The New Psychology of Leadership: Identity, Influence and Power adds a powerful and meaningful review of the literature on leadership otherwise unavailable in one place. As such, this book should be of interest to a wide audience of scholars, students, consultants, and trainers in the field of leadership development, as well as to leaders or aspiring leaders themselves." - Paul R. Ahr in PsycCRITIQUES "[The New Psychology of Leadership] brings a scientific approach to an important subject that has been without it for too long." - Michael Bond in Nature "As Haslam, Reicher and Platow set it out, a simple but profound theory underlies their New Psychology of Leadership. And that theory seems so very right that it may come as a surprise that this is not already the concept of leadership everywhere. This captures the true structure of what leadership is all about. Accordingly, on almost every page of the text there is a new subtlety about what leadership means and about how it works. It takes a subject older than Plato and as current as Barack Obama in a new and correct way." - From the Foreword by George A. Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics, University of California, Berkeley USA "Haslam, Reicher, and Platow provide a tremendous service by sorting through the tangle of leadership studies and theories to offer a new perspective that is at once elegant, supported by eclectic research, and readily translatable into practical implications for soci

 Be the first to write a customer review