Book Review
A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book About Studying Leadership
Brad Jackson and Ken Parry
ISBN: 978-1-4129-2846-5; 2008; 176 pages; Sage Publications Ltd;
Michael Muchiri
Lecturer, School of Management and Information Systems, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton QLD
A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book About Studying Leadership is written in the tradition of the highly popular series begun by Christopher Grey's A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book About Studying Organizations (Grey 2005). Written by two famed leadership educators, Professors Brad Jackson and Ken Parry, this book is a clever and fresh look at extant leadership conceptualisations and should draw a broad appeal among undergraduate and postgraduate students, practitioners and just anybody interested in leadership studies.
The book is organised into five parts and progressively examines leadership from leader-centred perspectives, follower-centred perspectives, cultural perspectives, critical perspectives, to leadership with a higher purpose. In all there are seven chapters and, true to the authors' opening words, they have kept the book simple, with minimum academic terminology. Each chapter is a stimulating read in itself, offering clear coverage of leadership concepts, theories and research findings without bogging down readers with too much detail. The authors carefully examine research done to support certain leadership theorising and potential opportunities for further research. From the outset, the authors contend they would focus on the more interesting questions currently being asked by those studying leadership (Jackson & Parry 2008: 20). Thus, unlike the more conventional OB textbooks that provide a detailed coverage of the traditional leadership topics, this book has an intentional bias towards current leadership research, theories and critical issues featuring in leadership discourse. Suffice is to say that this book takes an holistic examination of the leadership terrain, examining existing leadership theories, albeit in a simple manner fit for a small book such as this one.
In Chapter 1, the authors clarify that the text seeks to demystify the constituent processes of leadership (Jackson & Parry 2008: 14), and earnestly encourage readers of leadership literature to select those books that ‘challenge, unearth, expand and perhaps subvert the readers' assumptions about leadership, and what it is to lead and to follow' (Jackson & Parry 2008: 4). The authors view leadership as encompassing the person, the results, the position, and the process. They also avoid offering a universal definition of leadership, asserting that leadership should remain an ‘essentially contested concept', constantly being discussed and debated' (Jackson & Parry 2008: 14).
Chapter 2 focuses on leader-centred perspectives on leadership and examines various theories advancing the notion that leadership occurs as a result of the identity of a leader and his or her behaviour. The chapter provides an informative examination of the impact of traits and gender on leadership, and proposes potential research directions for researchers interested on both issues. The authors explain that although heredity and pedigree determine some elements of leadership, current research has shown that life experiences also play an equally large part in determining our leadership capabilities (Jackson & Parry 2008: 23). The authors highlight a potential research problem of confusing the manager-in-charge with the ‘leader', while in fact, people other than the manager-in-charge do demonstrate leadership from time to time. This Chapter also highlights ‘New leadership" themed leadership theories, including transformational-transactional and charismatic leadership theories. The discussion on limitations associated with transformational leadership is refreshing, but the proposition that greater use of qualitative methods to research leadership would remedy the perceived weaknesses is debatable.
Chapter 3 explores follower-centred perspectives on leadership, and highlights barriers to the acceptance of followership as a viable, even positive concept in leadership literature. The authors explain six emerging roles played by followers in leadership theorising, and evidently succeed in shifting the attention of modern researchers and theorists from leader-centred perspectives on leadership to a focus on followership as an effective force in the leadership equation. In Chapter 4, the authors focus on cultural perspectives on leadership, highlighting the prevalent US dominance in existing leadership theory and research. The Chapter is a condensed discussion of cross-cultural leadership and seeks to explain for cultural variation in leadership behaviour. The authors conclude that it is not just the specificity of the cultures being explored but the culturally specific way in which they have been explored that has limited our abilities to understand the full range and depth of leadership practices throughout the world (Jackson & Parry 2008: 82).
Chapter 5 focuses on critical perspectives on leadership and examines efforts by theorists towards developing leadership amongst followers. There is a genuine attempt to promote those leadership models which enable followers to take on leadership responsibilities throughout the organisation. Chapter 6, on leadership with a higher purpose, is a well-timed topic apparently targeted at corporate leadership bleeding from major corporate scandals. The authors advocate for leadership educators to not only improve the leaders' abilities to influence their followers but also to ensure that leaders do the right thing. Significantly, the authors elaborate on ethical leadership, authentic leadership, and spiritual leadership.
The concluding chapter, Chapter 7, analyses current literature on leadership development and identifies development methods and their limitations. A key assertion in this chapter, that you cannot train leaders (Jackson & Parry 2008: 117), will be evenly contested by HRD practitioners. The chapter distinguishes between ‘leader development', aimed at building human capital, and ‘leadership development', focusing on building social capital. Importantly, there is a detailed discussion of future leadership research endeavours, including potential research areas and methodologies.
Reading through this book, I felt it covered most of the key issues currently under discussion in the leadership domain. By assembling an array of potential research topics, the book should form an invaluable trigger for research ideas to postgraduate students keen to research on leadership but unsure where to begin. However, this book lacks an application and skill development focus. Moreover, it should clarify how qualitative research would remedy some perceived weaknesses of transformational leadership (Jackson & Parry 2008: 32).
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