Leadership is the problem

– and therefore not the solution

Emma Ek Österberg, Björn Rombach Editors

This book expands knowledge of leadership from two starting points. The first starting point is an implicit analytical assumption running throughout the book, i.e. that leadership constitutes a problem, not a solution.

This book about leadership targets all those seeking a better understanding of the mysterious phenomenon called leadership. The expected readers includes scholars exploring leadership, leaders and those who want to become leaders, as well as all those who are led or would like to be led.

In the book we expand our knowledge of leadership from two starting points. The first one is an implicit analytical assumption running throughout the book, i.e. that leadership constitutes a problem, not a solution. The second one is empirical and entails studies of leadership in contexts that are usually overlooked. Traditional businesses and public authorities are replaced with other settings, such as a monastery, an accident site and polar expeditions, in order to see beyond the preconditions of modern bureaucracy.

The authors try to figure out where we stand today and furthermore: where is leadership headed from here?