What if the roots of dark leadership are planted long before someone becomes a leader? And what if preventing destructive leadership requires us to look beyond behaviors and into the stories people carry with them throughout their lives?
Authentic leadership has been theorized, marketed, and critiqued for over two decades. Part of the trouble is that authenticity is so often performed, badly and inauthentically. Dolly Parton never had that problem. Her death offers a rare, unmistakable case study in the real thing.
What if our biggest problems were never meant to be solved, only navigated? This piece by Joanne Murphy explores why wicked problems such as climate change, migration, healthcare inequality, etc. resist linear solutions, and argues that leadership now means letting go of control, embracing creativity, and building psychological safety for collective sense-making.
For half a century, organizational consultant Katherine Tyler Scott has built her practice around one question: why. She unpacks how inner work and self-differentiation help leaders move beyond surface fixes to uncover the root causes shaping their organizations and communities.
Keir Starmer is out. Andy Burnham is on his way to Westminster. But what does this seismic shift in UK politics tell us about leadership and whether “popularism” can beat populism? A timely and thought-provoking read from Joanne Murphy for anyone thinking seriously about leadership in this moment.
When a knife attack in Belfast sparked riots inflamed by outside “influencers,” it exposed an emerging leadership challenge: who manages the bad actors profiting from division? Drawing on new place leadership research this post examines what leading a divided community actually demands.
What can Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Rey teach us about leading in the real world? More than you might think. Five leadership lessons from a galaxy far, far away.
When democracy erodes “gradually and then suddenly,” how can we spot the warning signs? This analysis by ILA Lifetime Achievement Award Winners Keith Grint and David L. Collinson reveals the 25-step authoritarian playbook that transforms leaders into dictators and why recognizing these patterns now matters more than ever.
With AI bubble speculation rising, it’s timely to examine corporate failure factors. Dr. Peter Stephenson and Professor Richard Bolden analyze Theranos to reveal interconnected causes of organizational failure, offering insights for policy, practice, and research beyond simple leadership blame.
Interdependent networks help organizations continuously adapt and thrive long-term, even in the face of the worst disruptions.
Leadership needs to adapt in an era of disruption, complexity and rapid transformation. Key components of that adaptation include the importance of relational and developmental leadership, systems literacy, and the democratization of leadership tools.
In 2025 the world feels like a very divided place. The capacity to listen, empathize, and learn from alternative perspectives is eroded, as is the potential to build lasting and effective partnerships and collaboration to address the “wicked” problems we face, not just as individuals, but as members of interconnected and interdependent systems on which we all depend. It’s time we led together.