DISCOVERING LEADERSHIP

Billsberry, J. (2009; Ed.) Discovering Leadership. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 0-230-57584-6 (hbk) 978-0-230-57584-4 (pbk)

The book has been designed to support a first course in leadership and comprises 24 articles covering eight key leadership topics: Defining Leadership, Effective Leadership, Leadership: Image or Substance?, Exploring Followership, Leadership Gestation, Inspiring Others, Gender Issues and Ethical Issues. I was very fortunate that I had a completely free hand to choose whatever papers I wanted regardless of permissions costs. Hence, the book contains seminal articles by Keith Grint, John Kotter, James Kouzes and Barry Posner, Daniel Goleman, David Boje, Barbara Kellerman, Henry Mintzberg, Gareth Morgan, Joanne Ciulla and many other eminent people as well. One noteworthy quality of the book is that it takes a broadly social constructionist approach to leadership and the articles have been edited to aid digestion.

Professor Keith Grint, Cranfield University, kindly supplied the following recommendation which has been added to the back cover:

'This aptly named collection provides an excellent introduction to the contemporary world of leadership studies. For once we have a volume that challenges the solid ship of taken-for-granted heroes and creates a melting map of contested accounts. A great addition to the literature.'