The Leadership Illusion: The Importance of Context and Connections

199 Pages·2010·2.628 MB·English

by  Tony Hall, Karen Janman (auth.)

The Leadership Illusion
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THE LEADERSHIP
ILLUSION
The Importance of Context
and Connections
Tony Hall
Karen Janman
© Tony Hall & Karen Janman 2010
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2010 978-0-230-51656-4
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted
save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,
Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The authors have asserted their rights to be identifi ed as the authors of this
work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2010 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries
ISBN 978-1-349-35448-1 ISBN 978-0-230-27139-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-0-230-27139-5
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing
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country of origin.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10
Tony Hall
To
Mum and Dad: who would have guessed?
Tracey and Ethan: who always knew.
Karen Janman
To
My parents, Lawrie, Ollie and Maddy;
my past, my present and my future
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Making Connections and Shifting Perspectives xi
1. The Leadership Illusion 1
Introduction 1
The Mystique of Leadership 7
From Attributes to Attributions 9
Attributions and Castro’s Gamble 10
Through the Leadership Lens Obscurely: Charisma 13
Conclusions 19
2. Our Connected World 22
Organizational Networks 26
Personal Networks 34
Parallel Lives 36
The Case for Network Leadership 38
3. The Right Sort of Social Capital 40
Overview 40
The Slippery Slopes of Social Capital 41
Social Capital: A Brief Review 44
The Problem with Putnam 48
The Benefi ts of Social Capital 50
Social Capital and its Implications For Leaders 57
4. Making the Invisible Visible 65
Introduction 65
Social Network Analysis: Core Concepts 68
5. Three Circles of Network Leadership 85
Introduction 85
The Future is Bright; the Future is Female? 86
vii
CONTENTS
Network Leadership: Connect and Deliver! 90
Network Leadership: A Deeper Dive 93
Final Thoughts: Squaring Circles And Praising Wine 109
6. The Light Bulb Illusion 111
Innovation, Networks and Social Capital 116
Leadership and Innovation 123
7. Leadership Development: Of Fires and Forges 127
Leadership Development and the Three Layers
of the Invisible 133
The Coaching Conundrum 145
From Fires to Forges 152
8. Elephants, Moons and Mirrors 157
Mirrors in the Brain 163
Notes 166
Index 172
viii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book has been a collaborative enterprise.
The contributions of many, many people have shaped the course
and content; to them and all those friends and colleagues, who are as
numerous as they are valued, we say “thank you.”
However, there a few individuals that deserve a special mention.
Our interviewees have profoundly contributed to the direction of our
thinking and the arguments of the book as a whole. Amidst busy careers
and hectic lives, they took time-out to answer the questions of two
unpublished, unknown writers. Some of these accomplished people
were already part of our world; others are new connections who brought
fresh ideas and personal stories. Without their combined experience,
insight and observations, this book would have remained too abstract,
if indeed it would have been fi nished at all. To all those mentioned
below, we owe you more than a small debt of gratitude and hope that
the end result justifi es the distraction from your commitments.
• Sir Christopher Evans, Chairman of Merlin Biosciences
• Peter Lidstone, European Supply Chain Director, Akzonobel
Decorative Paints
• Andrew Kakabadse, Professor of International Management,
Cranfi eld Management School
• Peter Scraton, Group HR Director, e2v
• Howard Bate, MD South Africa, Regional Director Africa, Mott
MacDonald
• Eric Thomas, Vice Chancellor, Bristol University
• Kathy Sykes, Chair of Public Understanding of Science, Bristol
University
• Clare Chapman, Director General of Workforce for NHS and
Social Care, Department of Health, England
• Andrew Hargadon, Professor of Management, UC Davis Centre
for Entrepreneurship
• Jez Cartright, CEO of Performance Consultants
• Stewart Milne, Chairman of Stewart Milne Group
ix