Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice [Hardcover]

Nitin Nohria (Editor), Rakesh Khurana (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 26, 2010

Scores of books and articles have been written in the popular press and mainstream marketplace about leadership: who leaders are, what they do, and why they matter. Yet in academia, there is a dearth of rigorous research, journal articles, or doctoral programs focused on leadership as a discipline. Why do top business schools espouse mission statements that promise to 'educate the leaders of the future' - yet fail to give leadership its intellectual due? "The Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice" seeks to bridge this disconnect. Based on the Harvard Business School Centennial Colloquium "Leadership: Advancing an Intellectual Discipline" and edited by HBS professors Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana, this volume brings together the most important scholars from fields as diverse as psychology, sociology, economics, and history to take stock of what we know about leadership and to set an agenda for future research. More than a means of getting ahead and gaining power, leadership must be understood as a serious professional and personal responsibility. Featuring the thinking of today's most renowned scholars, the "Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice" will be a catalyst for elevating leadership to a higher intellectual plane - and help shape the research agenda for the next generation of leadership scholars.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nitin Nohria is the Richard P. Chapman Professor or Business Administration, Senior Associate Dean, and Director of Faculty Development at Harvard Business School. He is the author of numerous books and articles. Rakesh Khurana is an Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and author of numerous important articles and books in the areas of leadership and management.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 848 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press (January 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1422138798
• ISBN-13: 978-1422138793
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "big sprawling book about a big sprawling topic", September 9, 2010

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice (Hardcover)

What we have here is an anthology of 26 essays that were generated by those who participated in a Harvard Business School Centennial Colloquium on "Advancing Leadership." Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana are its co-editors and deserve high praise for their efforts. They acknowledge the assistance of dozens of others and, given the nature and extent of what must have been involved to get the book published, Nohria and Khurana should be commended. The material is organized within five sections, each of which has a core assumption or theme.

One: "The significance of leadership for organizational life is best assessed by the direct impact of leadership on organizational performance." Two: A multi-faceted examination of the theory of leadership (personal attributes, functions, and relationships) "across eight major disciplines, including organizational behavior, psychology, psychoanalysis, sociology, economics, history and political science." Three: Three papers focus on the variability of leadership (i.e. what's core and contingent), despite a widespread assumption among leadership scholars "that there is no universal model or one best way to lead and that leadership must be contingent on the specifics of any given situation." Comment: I agree that "effective leadership must to some extent be contingent on the situation and the person," and, that "a contingent theory of leadership that is broad enough in scope to include virtually all situational factors makes integration and a middle-range theory substantially more difficult." Four: The focus is on some of the most important practical problems facing leaders, such as "how to cope with the complexity of the CEO's role, how to build effective senior leadership teams, how to lead in a more global environment, how to make critical leadership decisions, how to mobilize social movements that can address some of society's most pressing problems, and how to lead to stimulate innovation." Five: The five essays in this section focus on the "knowing, doing, and being" issues of leadership development, affirming that all three are important. "How do we help leaders develop along these dimensions?" In my opinion, the more important question is, "How should we help leaders develop along these lines...and along other lines that are also appropriate?"

In each section, the contributors focus on "some of the key themes and tensions found in the literature [to provide] a useful lens on organizing this vast and sprawling field." I hasten to add that, in fact, multiple lenses and prisms have been used, from a commendably diverse range of scholars' perspectives, to produce what I characterize as a 360º examination of especially important issues.

For example, here are some of the questions that are addressed:

"What kinds of leaders are these institutions [i.e. business, government, other spheres of public life] developing that have caused so much hardship for so many?"

Question: What about academic institutions with which most of the contributors are now associated?

"Are these institutions developing leaders who have the competence and character to lead the web of complex institutions that have become so vital to the collective health of modern societies?"

"What is the vision or model of leadership that animates the curriculum and developmental models in these institutions?"

Comment: I think there are multiple visions and multiple models and doubt if there is any one of each that is sufficient to accommodate multiple needs and objectives.

"If there is such a model, does it need to be revisited, reexamined, and revised in light of the widespread failures in leadership?"

"Do we really understand what it takes to develop better leaders?"

Question: If not, then what?

"What advice can scholars give leaders who are entrusted with the challenges of leading organizations and ensuring their continued viability and prosperity?"

I'm not saying that questions such as these should not be asked...and answered. However, as I navigated my way through almost 800 pages of the sequential and thematic narrative, I wondered what non-"scholars" also think about various issues. For example, those who head the leadership development programs for the military services (including the academies located at West Point, Annapolis, and Colorado Springs) and those who head the leadership development programs at major corporate universities (e.g. Accenture, ADP, KPMG, Motorola, and Ritz-Carlton). What are their perspectives on major business schools, notably Harvard and others with which the contributors of this book are associated? Those now involved in efforts to solve the problems to which Nohria (recently appointed dean of HBS) and Khurana refer in the first chapter may well share at least some of the responsibility for causing or neglecting them.

My guess (only a guess) is that this book will be of greatest interest and value primarily -- but certainly not exclusively -- to those who comprise the academic community, especially classroom instructors and others now involved in research relevant to the theory and practice of leadership.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars missing pages 66-98, March 29, 2011

By 

Wysocki descendant - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice (Hardcover)

I would have given this book five stars rather than four but I am unsure of the quality of pages 66-98 since they are missing from my edition. Anybody else have this problem?

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, A Candid and Critical Review of the State of Leadership, August 24, 2010

By 

Alain Paul Martin (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice (Hardcover)

The future of organizations (business, governments, NGOs), communities, nations, ecosystems, world peace and democracy depend on the competence (knowledge and skills), commitment (behavior and attitudes), conscience (ethics) and selfless courage of leaders. In short, our future and the quality of life of upcoming generations are more than ever riding on exemplary leadership - a severely scarce resource to address the fast-growing, urgent and daunting challenges facing us in this turbulent and dangerous world.

Long overdue, this book establishes solid foundations for the education, research and practice of exemplary leadership. I hope it is the tipping point for a sound and new direction to nurture leaders who will ultimately shape a better, more humane and ecofriendly planet. The editors, Rakesh Khurana and Nitin Nohtia, are also among the distinguished tapestry of coauthors. Both professors are altruistic-nurturing, innovative and critical thinkers, who built a reputation for speaking their minds on emerging issues, business education and leadership.