Overview

"In The Science of Leadership, Julian Barling takes an evidenced-based approach, relying primarily on the knowledge generated from research on organizational leadership conducted around the world and personal reflections based on two decades of involvement in leadership research and leadership development with executives. While leadership has been studied within all the major social sciences, Barling mainly focuses on findings from psychological research. The first part of the book explains the nature of organizational leadership, responds to the question of whether leaders ""matter,"" and explains how leadership works. A longstanding issue is whether leadership can be taught. Barling explores the debate over whether leadership is ""born or made"" as well as the effectiveness of leadership development interventions in organizations. He gives consideration to what can be learned from leadership in other contexts such as sports, the political arena, and schools, and devotes individual chapters to topics that include gender and leadership, destructive leadership, and followership."

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9780199757015

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Do leaders matter? Are leaders born or made? The Science of Leadership focuses on the psychology of leadership. Findings from psychological research enable an evidence-based approach that explores global research in organisational leadership. Barling incorporates personal reflections based on 20 years' involvement with leadership research and executive leadership development. The book translates leadership theories and research into everyday behaviours, and explains how researchers generate knowledge on leadership. Barling explores what leadership can teach us beyond the boardroom, for example, in sports, politics, and schools. Separate chapters cover topics including gender and leadership, destructive leadership, and followship. --WITSReview There's no shortage of books on leadership, and this book's purpose is 'to bridge the gap between academic and trade books, by focusing on what is actually known about organizational leadership from the enormous body of scientifically driven research.' It's written in a way that is accessible to those who want to use this knowledge to guide their everyday behaviors and for practitioners that want to use it design leadership programs. The book offers a thorough history of leadership theory and the data to support where leadership development initiatives have had success. This is a must read for human resource and leadership development practitioners to understand what we know and still are investigating around leadership. -Laura Schwarz, i2leadership.com Barling, an organizational behavior professor at Canada's Queen's University, explores some central debates about leadership -- whether leaders are born or made, the relevance of gender, the import of followership -- by reference to mostly psychological research conducted over the past two decades. The result is an accessible and frequently illuminating tour of the evidence shaping and underlying popular if often superficial debates. Perhaps most directly relevant to many readers will be the question (and layered answer) about the effectiveness of leadership development programs. -David Slocum, Forbes [The Science of Leadership] was immediately applicable and helpful in developing an understanding of the real life issues that confront leaders. Barling has done a great service to the field by addressing some of the most important topics confronting the study of leadership. What makes the book so interesting to read is that the author offers an in-depth exploration of topics that are often neglected in books on leadership. Many readers will find this refreshing, interesting, and accessible. --Clive Fullagar, Personnel Psychology

It's written in a way that is accessible to those who want to use this knowledge to guide their everyday behaviors and for practitioners that want to use it design leadership programs. The book offers a thorough history of leadership theory and the data to support where leadership development initiatives have had success. This is a must read for human resource and leadership development practitioners to understand what we know and still are investigating around leadership. The result of this emphasis on current trends in leadership research is that the evidence that Barling draws upon resonates with the current events and issues that are exemplified throughout the book. Clive Fullagar, Professor, Dept of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University Personnel Psychology

Itas written in a way that is accessible to those who want to use this knowledge to guide their everyday behaviors and for practitioners that want to use it design leadership programs. The book offers a thorough history of leadership theory and the data to support where leadership development initiatives have had success. This is a must read for human resource and leadership development practitioners to understand what we know and still are investigating around leadership.

Do leaders matter? Are leaders born or made? The Science of Leadership focuses on the psychology of leadership. Findings from psychological research enable an evidence-based approach that explores global research in organisational leadership. Barling incorporates personal reflections based on 20 years' involvement with leadership research and executive leadership development. The book translates leadership theories and research into everyday behaviours, and explains how researchers generate knowledge on leadership. Barling explores what leadership can teach us beyond the boardroom, for example, in sports, politics, and schools. Separate chapters cover topics including gender and leadership, destructive leadership, and followship. --WITSReview

Author Information

Julian Barling is the Borden Chair of Leadership and Queens Research Chair at the Queen's School of Business. Barling is extensively involved in research, graduate teaching, and executive development focused on organizational leadership, and has received numerous awards for research and teaching. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2002, and is a Fellow of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Canadian Psychological Society.

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