Re/searching leadership
A critique in two agonies and nine fits
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9889455 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jackie Ford (0000-0002-9060-4005, Durham University Business School, UK,, corresponding author), Nancy Harding (0000-0002-5225-2870, University of Bath, corresponding author), Sarah Gilmore (0000-0001-5570-5508, Cardiff University Business School, UK,, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 76 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 809-832 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Human Relations (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-7267 • E-ISSN: 1741-282X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00187267221079167 |
| OpenAlex | W4210756004 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 61 |
Since the 19th century, much academic effort has been expended researching leadership. Bodies of theory have risen to dominance, proved unsatisfactory and been replaced by another generation of ultimately disappointing leadership thought. This repetitive pattern continues, so we ask what motivates this continuing, seemingly fruitless search? Focusing on researchers and not leadership per se, our analysis is inspired by two surprisingly complementary sources: psychoanalytical theory and Lewis Carroll’s epic nonsense poem, The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits . Together they lead to a theory that re/search is motivated by unconscious desires to experience the transformational object—an ultimately unachievable search but one that unconsciously sustains the ever-growing field of leadership research. In contributing a new psychoanalytical theory of unconscious motivations that inspire our research, we also demonstrate the inspiration poetry may offer organizational researchers. We conclude by offering a ninth fit, which leaps into the void of future thought and finds that the leadership Snark was, in fact, a Boojum
Epistemology · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Transactional leadership · Transformational leadership · Unconscious mind · Leadership, Courage, and Heroism Studies · Management and Organizational Studies · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications · Social Psychology
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Ordinary Affects
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Carlyle, Freud, and the Great Man Theory more fully considered
The impossibility of the ‘true self’ of authentic leadership
Is critical leadership studies ‘critical’
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Collective dimensions of leadership
Resistance leadership
Critical leadership studies
Towards a negative ontology of leadership
Leadership and charisma
Personal Factors Associated with Leadership
Leadership, membership and organization
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |