Action Learning: Research and Practice

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Studying leadership: traditional and critical

approaches

Stephen Brookes

To cite this article: Stephen Brookes (2019): Studying leadership: traditional and critical
approaches, Action Learning: Research and Practice, DOI: 10.1080/14767333.2019.1655970

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Published online: 02 Sep 2019.

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ACTION LEARNING: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

BOOK REVIEW

Studying leadership: traditional and critical approaches, by Schedlitzki, Doris and

Gareth Edwards, Second Edition, Sage, 2018, pp. 480., £41.99 (pbk), ISBN
9781473958616, £126 (hbk), ISBN 9781473958609

For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.
(Aristotle, Brown, and Dawson 2009, Book II: 1103b)

Aristotle’s view reflects one of the principles of action learning; ‘there can be no learning
without action, and no action without learning’ (Revans 1998). Action learning is now a well-
recognised methodology for aligning theory to practice and continuous improvement.
However, it is not merely ‘learning by doing’; action learning is much more than this and
involves reflecting and learning with and from the experiences of colleagues as they try to
change things (Edmonstone 2018, 17).
The title takes as its focus and analysis, both traditional and critical approaches to the study
of leadership. Its overall aim is to enrich the learning by providing a range of leadership theories
that encompass both the classical approaches to leadership thinking but also to stretch the
mind to look at some of the more current and critical approaches.
As a primer, the first part of the book serves as a foundation of leadership study. It revisits
many of the well-espoused theories on leadership ranging from the oft-cited ‘great man
theory’, through to the relatively more recent and populist transformational leadership. The
authors describe the full range leadership (FRL) model that encourages leaders to look
beyond self-interest and focus on the common good through vision, motivation and inspi-
ration. This is perhaps the anti-thesis of unauthentic (pseudo-transformational) leadership,
where the leader ‘leads’ but has no intention of sacrificing their interests for the good of
others driven by a false moral character of the leaders and their concerns for self and others
(Bass and Steidlmeier 1999). This is a particularly vital perspective to conclude this first part
of the book given this reviewing authors interest in selfless leadership (Brookes 2016).

So, what does part two have to offer?

Grounded on the importance of context, it explores the broader interactive processes that
leaders engage in rather than the results they achieve, according with Grint (2005a). Under-
standing context provides a substantial opportunity to answer that oft-neglected ‘how ques-
tion’ of leadership. For the future of leadership studies, context is the right place to start. As
the authors note, the notion of context is not a new phenomenon in leadership studies, but
it is a concept that extends beyond current traditional thinking. The constituents of context
explored take account initially of both implicit leadership theories and social identity theory,
followed by a review of both US and European research on leadership.
In describing leadership context as a symbolic space that helps to determine the meaning of
what leadership is, this is helpful but from a practice point of view these theoretical consider-
ations of leadership contexts can be supported by Heifetz’s notion of the ‘holding environment
within his seven principles of adaptive leadership’ (Heifetz 1994 and Heifetz and Linsky 2002).
Either virtual or physical the real strength is in allowing the conflicts of different key actors to
emerge and be discussed positively based upon the differing values and beliefs that represent
each context. One of the critical barriers that prevent the actors engaged in resolving an
2 BOOK REVIEW

adaptive leadership challenge is that framing takes place in different ways; social identity
theory and social constructivist approaches which the authors describe provide some sense
as to why this happens. As more actors engage in the task of framing the leadership
problem in the first place, differences arise. The authors’ explanation of social constructionism
highlights why a new approach to leadership needs to work more towards a sense of shared
vision and shared values no matter how difficult that is to achieve.
In exploring context related research and how this affects leadership practice, the authors
are right to draw on both qualitative and quantitatively based research and the identification
of the dynamic interaction of different levels and types of context, reinforcing what others refer
to as a systems-based approach to leadership research and practice. The work of Buckminster
Fuller is helpful in this regard. As the founding father of synergetics and Weiner (Wiener 1946)
and Beer (Beer 1981) respectively who promote organisational cybernetics, a combination of
these approaches can help in unpicking these dynamic interactions. The classic ‘PESTLE1’
model fits well. In terms of practice-based leadership development, Fuller’s view is that
there is only one universal system which is that of the natural universe; humans thus create
all other systems and – as human beings – we are fallible (Fuller and Dil 1983). This view
accords with Grint (Grint 2005a, 1) who argues that there is an increasing recognition that
all (individual) leaders are necessarily flawed; ‘they are not the embodiments of perfection
that we would like them to be’. Understanding the psychological and sociological aspects of
leadership theory is, therefore, helpful in understanding how to create a foundation for apply-
ing leadership learning into practice.
The social construction of leadership is a most valuable contribution in part two and perhaps
one of the most important in that it challenges the conventional view that knowledge is
unbiased and represents an objective view of the world. The reality, however, is that knowledge
is a product of both culture and history and, as this reviewing author would suggest, is often
driven by both individual and organisational egos (Brookes 2016). The language of leadership,
the influence of power, and the predispositions of individual leaders are real barriers to the
development of collective leadership. A more qualitative, interpretive approach to research,
teaching and most importantly, its practice is therefore imperative. Drawing on Grint once
more, ‘the context is not independent of human agency, and cannot be objectively assessed
in a scientific form’ (Grint 2005b, 1471).
Context is the real value that emerges from part two. Only when we understand the indivi-
dualistic nature of people and organisations can a shift be made towards a seamless interaction
between strategic leadership and leading change, the focus of attention in chapter 8.
I was looking forward to reading the final chapter of part two, which introduced and criti-
cally discussed the link between leadership, learning and development. The chapter began
by examining the traditional approaches to leadership learning and development. It was
encouraging to note a shift towards leadership development focussed more on culture, com-
plexity and criticality. It is clear that the evaluation of leadership development still has a long
way to go before it can be said to affect the alignment between leadership development and
impact positively. In looking to the future, the authors highlighted some points that deserve
further insights. Of particular interest is the suggestion of reconnection with context and com-
munity, an essential aspect of applying leadership learning into practice and one that action
learning (aligned to an applied leadership challenge within the workplace) could have a signifi-
cant role to play.
 ACTION LEARNING: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 3

Part three of the book had the most considerable promise; it did not
disappoint
Part three describes some of the critical issues in leadership from gender and diversity, ethics
and toxicity, language and identity, arts and aesthetics, and finally researching leadership.
Insightful challenges for the future of leadership must surely represent a foundation for
what both scholars and practitioners within the leadership field desire. The epilogue describes
some of the essential requirements for the future of leadership. The authors provide a helpful
summary of the points to emerge from these brief reflections from some of the eminent
members of the scholarly community. The common thread throughout these reflections and
– it is fair to say – throughout the entire book is the context of leadership and the acknowledge-
ment that the leadership of purpose underpins this. Some of the contributors to these reflective
thoughts suggest some simple questions. ‘Leadership of what? Leadership for what?’ As impor-
tant as these are, a further and equally (or more) important question to ask is ‘why do we lead?’

Conclusion
As we move towards the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century, there is an
inherent and acute leadership crisis (Gandolfi and Stone 2016) illustrated by several high
profile toxic examples of selfishness and personal motives.
The future of leadership studies and its impact on leadership practice will rely on a much
stronger alignment between ‘study’ and ‘application’ in the practice of leadership. We need
to reconsider the language of leadership. The terms of ‘followership’, ‘servant’ (leadership),
‘superiors’ needs to change and be more illustrative of (and receptive to), the relational and
collective aspects of leadership. As Joe Raelin argues, in the epilogue, ‘to those called followers,
what does the vertical influence model suggest about their own prospective agency?’ Raelin
also argues for the promise of the leadership-in-action movement based on authenticity and
mutual benefit. How can we argue with this, but why is it so difficult to achieve? These are
the questions that we need to answer. In terms of the application of leadership study to prac-
tice, a stronger approach to action learning and applied leadership challenges presents many
opportunities but also challenges.
This book is taking us partway along that road. In the authors’ final, personal reflection, they
make a plea for symmetry, which concerns achieving harmony of parts with each other and the
whole.2 This is a credible suggestion and one, if combined with the principles of synergetics
and cybernetics, then a whole systems-based approach to the processes of leadership might
help us to focus on the how question of leadership.

Notes
1. ‘Political, Economic, Social, Technical, Legal and Environmental’ (contexts).
2. ‘symmetry, n’. OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2019. Web. 30 May 2019.

References
Aristotle, W. D. Ross, Lesley Brown, and Books Dawson. 2009. The Nicomachean Ethics [Electronic Book]. New ed.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bass, Bernard M., and Paul Steidlmeier. 1999. “Ethics, Character, and Authentic Transformational Leadership
Behavior.” The Leadership Quarterly 10 (2): 181–217.
Beer, Stafford. 1981. Brain of the Firm : The Managerial Cybernetics of Organization : Companion Volume to the Heart
of Enterprise. 2nd ed. Chichester: Wiley.
4 BOOK REVIEW

Brookes, S. 2016. The Selfless Leader: A Compass for Collective Leaders. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Edmonstone, John. 2018. Action Learning in Health, Social and Community Care.
Fuller, R. Buckminster, and Anwar S. Dil. 1983. Humans in Universe. New York: Mouton.
Gandolfi, Franco, and Seth Stone. 2016. “Clarifying Leadership: High-impact Leaders in a Time of Leadership
Crisis.” Review of International Comparative Management 17 (3): 212–224.
Grint, Keith. 2005a. Leadership : Limits and Possibilities. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Grint, Keith. 2005b. “Problems, Problems, Problems: The Social Construction of ‘Leadership’.” Human Relations 58
(11): 1467–1494.
Heifetz, Ronald A. 1994. Leadership without Easy Answers. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University
Press.
Heifetz, Ronald A., and Martin Linsky. 2002. Leadership on the Line : Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading.
Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Revans, Reginald W. 1998. ABC of Action Learning. London: Lemos & Crane.
Wiener, Norbert. 1946. Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine [S.l.]. New York,
NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Stephen Brookes
IMP Health Management, Alliance Manchester Business School - Innovation Management and
Policy Division, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Stephen.Brookes@manchester.ac.uk
© 2019 Stephen Brookes
https://doi.org/10.1080/14767333.2019.1655970