In this original text, Simon Western deconstructs and reconstructs leadership to challenge the popular notion of the individual or hero leader, instead using his own framework to present leadership as a distributed process.

New to the third edition:

• A new chapter on leadership symptoms that offers a novel approach to researching and conceptualizing leadership.
• An expanded chapter on "Leadership and Diversity" with Pooja Sachdev.
• Updated material on "The Eco-Leadership Discourse", with the chapter now differentiating between ethical eco-leadership and commercial eco-leaders (e.g Facebook, Google, Amazon).
• Analysis of contemporary leadership trends, including leadership in the gig economy, algorithmic management, and the rise in messiah and authoritarian leadership in populist parties.
• Updated case studies with references to current politicians and organizations.

About the Author
Simon Western is CEO and founder of Analytic-Network Coaching Ltd, an avant-garde coaching company whose purpose is to 'coach leaders to act in good faith to create the good society' www.analyticnetwork.com. He is an internationally recognized thought leader on leadership, coaching and organizational behaviour. Taking his unique experience and an unusual theoretical position into the workplace, he draws on critical theory, networked theory, social movement theory and psychoanalysis to help leaders develop new insights, act ethically and create progressive change in organizations. Simon leads advanced coaching and leadership training courses to develop new 'Eco-leadership' approaches to help leaders adapt to today's disruptive, network society. With over 200 registered coaches across the globe, Analytic-Network Coaching is growing fast. He shares his thinking as an international keynote speaker, academic and is author of three acclaimed books; Global Leadership Perspectives, Insights and Analysis (with Eric-Jean Gautier), Leadership: A Critical Text (3rd edn: Sage, 2019) and Coaching and Mentoring: A Critical Text (Sage 2012). Simon works directly with senior leaders on radical change strategies, organizational change and in-depth on personal and leadership challenges, drawing on his psychotherapist background.

Reviews

"Everyone has opinions about leadership, but few people have thought about it as deeply as Simon Western. In this important text, he shows us why we should be suspicious of easy answers and noisy leaders. This is a beautifully written and thought provoking book for anyone who wants to move beyond glib recipes and really think hard about our collective futures."

-- Professor Martin Parker

This is the third edition of an already internationally acclaimed text. In comparison to previous editions, this third iteration offers shorter chapters and a more transparently presented argumentation.

The tag attached to 'Leadership' in the book's title - 'A Critical Text' - is fully justified, given that the premises of argument proposed, challenged and justified through this book remain strongly influenced by reference to European enlightenment (dialectics) and to discourses honed by members of the so-called Frankfurt School and which shaped current interpretations and applications of Critical Theory.

-- Keith Jackson * Asia Pacific Business Review *
"Destined to become a classic, this book is one of the most comprehensive and insightful critical perspectives on leadership that has emerged in the past two decades. Now in its third edition, Leadership: A Critical Text is richly theorized, historically and ecologically grounded, and immensely practical. It is quite simply one of the very best single-volume works on leadership available."

-- Benjamin W. Redekop



Book Information
ISBN 9781526459527
Author Simon Western
Format Paperback
Page Count 456
Imprint Sage Publications Ltd
Publisher Sage Publications Ltd
Weight(grams) 780g