Grint, Keith (2010) The sacred in leadership: separation, sacrifice and silence. Organization Studies, Vol.31 (No.1). pp. 89-107. ISSN 0170-8406

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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
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
Journal or Publication Title:	Organization Studies
Publisher:	Sage Publications Ltd.
ISSN:	0170-8406
Date:	January 2010
Volume:	Vol.31
Number:	No.1
Number of Pages:	19
Page Range:	pp. 89-107
Identification Number:	10.1177/0170840609347054
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/6454

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