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The sacred in leadership: separation, sacrifice and silence
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Grint, Keith (2010) The sacred in leadership: separation, sacrifice and silence. Organization Studies, Vol.31 (No.1). pp. 89-107. doi:10.1177/0170840609347054
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0170840609347054
Abstract
In attempting to escape from the clutches of heroic leadership we now seem enthralled by its apparent opposite-distributed leadership: in this post-heroic era we will all be leaders so that none are. This essay suggests that we need to reconsider the nature of leadership if we are to assess alternatives and a critical aspect is its relationship to the sacred. I suggest that the sacred nature of leadership is not so much the elephant in the room but the room itself-the space that allows leadership to work. Leadership embodies three elements of the sacred: the separation between leaders and followers, the sacrifice of leaders and followers, and the way leaders silence the anxiety and resistance of followers. The essay concludes that non-sacred governance systems are plausible but that the effort and responsibility required would politicize the private sphere and render radical alternatives-non-sacred leadership-only viable for short-term, small scale organizations. We need therefore to find ways of engaging with, rather than seeking to avoid, the sacred nature of leadership.
Item Type: | Journal Item | ||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management | ||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School > International Centre for Governance & Public Management Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School |
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Journal or Publication Title: | Organization Studies | ||||
Publisher: | Sage Publications Ltd. | ||||
ISSN: | 0170-8406 | ||||
Official Date: | January 2010 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Vol.31 | ||||
Number: | No.1 | ||||
Number of Pages: | 19 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 89-107 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1177/0170840609347054 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
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