ABSTRACT

Fascination with leadership and its relation to world events seems to be ever growing, and leadership narratives are a key element through which leader identities are constructed. Contemporary research into leadership tends to recycle the same old myths of the heroic white male leader. By looking at stories told by leaders in Australasia, Asia, North America, the Middle East, and Africa, this book explores different aspects of leadership narratives.

The Language of Leadership Narratives brings linguistics and leadership research together, showcasing different analytical and methodological approaches and enabling a more critical approach. Each chapter focuses on a specific area of leadership research, from dark leadership to gendered leadership. This book introduces the advantages of analysing leadership narratives as social practice and discusses some of the main themes in contemporary leadership research.

This volume is key reading for scholars and students of linguistics, communication studies, and business studies, and for those working in business and intercultural communication in the workplace.

chapter 1|21 pages

Introducing Leadership Narratives

chapter 2|19 pages

A Social Practice Approach to Narratives

Showcasing a positioning analysis of a canonical leadership story

chapter 3|26 pages

Beyond the Canonical Narrative

Exploring different genres of leadership narratives from a discourse analytical perspective

chapter 8|14 pages

Conclusions

Leadership narratives as social practice. A different way of approaching leadership