Re/searching leadership: A critique in two agonies and nine fits

Abstract

Since the nineteenth century much academic effort has been expended researching leadership. Bodies of theory have risen to dominance, proved unsatisfactory, and been replaced by another generation of ultimately-disappointing leadership thought. This repetitive pattern continues, so we ask what motivates this continuing, seemingly fruitless search? Focusing on researchers and not leadership per se, our analysis is inspired by two surprisingly complementary sources: psychoanalytical theory and Lewis Carroll’s epic nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits. Together they lead to a theory that re/search is motivated by unconscious desires to experience the transformational object – an ultimately unachievable search but one that unconsciously sustains the ever-growing field of leadership research. In contributing a new psychoanalytical theory of unconscious motivations that inspire our research, we also demonstrate the inspiration poetry may offer organizational researchers. We conclude by offering a ninth fit which leaps into the void of future thought and finds that the leadership Snark was, in fact, a Boojum.

Marcel Mauss and the magical agents of our time

“…Mythologies of 'transformational', 'visionary' and 'charismatic' leaders abound in business, politics, professional sports, culture, and other domains. Variations of such representations are also evident in the 'Great Man' theories of business leadership literature (for critical reviews, see Ford et al, 2022;Robinson and Kerr, 2009), New Age inspired leadership training (Heelas, 1999), and media and political discourse. In the context of cultural organisations for instance, Nisbett and Walmsley (2016) show how arts managers, policymakers, and audiences idealise popular leaders as 'clever', 'charismatic', and 'enthusiastic' and exalt the possibilities and extraordinary effects of their leadership.…”

Editorial: Crafting review and essay articles for Human Relations

“…Some argue that the quality of the theorizing process is likely improved when researchers address research problems with real-world ramifications and structure their study in a manner that connects with practice ( Van de ven and Johnson, 2006), though this is not generally a strong requirement for conceptual reviews. Ford et al (2022), for example, developed a psychoanalytical framework using Lewis Carroll's (1876/2004) nonsense poem to explain why the search for new leadership theories continues despite 150 years of failure to find a workable theory. Their study deviates from the traditional research approaches by focusing on those who study leadership (e.g.…”

To the things themselves: contributions of phenomenological epistemology to leadership studies

“…The proliferation and redundancy of perspectives are some of the characteristics that plague the field. For Ford, Harding, and Gilmore (2022), this productivity seems fueled by a relentless and unattainable search for new leadership theories. In addition to the "failure" to discover a viable general theory, even after 150 years of research (Ford et al, 2022, p. 811), there are also broad problems such as lack of replication, use of methodological shortcuts (p-hacking), and carelessness in conceptualizing and operationalizing research (Ashford & Sitkin, 2019).…”