Newsletter Archive - International Leadership Association

ILA Commemorating International Women's Day

by Mike Hardy, ILA Board Chair; Founding Director, Centre for Trust, Peace, and Social Relations, Coventry University, UK & Cynthia Cherrey, ILA President

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Imagine a world that is inclusive, fair, and above all, transparent. This would be a world where all have equal access to public leadership roles, and leadership teams would reflect the diversity of the population, corralling and mobilizing a wider range of perspectives and experiences. In this world, policies would prioritize equity, social justice, and sustainable development — addressing issues that have historically been overlooked. Society would be experiencing a profound transformation from where we still are today!

Workplaces would be embracing inclusive practices, fostering environments where collaboration and empathy thrive. Education systems would have evolved, inspiring girls to aspire to leadership from an early age. Representation in politics would be rousing increased civic engagement and trust in government, leading to more effective and responsive governance.

Culturally, media portrayals would have shifted, importantly celebrating women in leadership and dismantling stereotypes. Communities would be benefiting from policies addressing healthcare, childcare, and family leave, promoting a work-life balance that supports all citizens. Overall, this world would foster innovation, resilience, and harmony, reflecting the strengths of a truly equitable society.

Some world!

Inspired by the 1909 demonstrations in New York City, the vision German activist Clara Zetkin and others proposed in 1910 was that every country on the same day should have a “Women’s Day’’ to create a rallying point for the rights of women. The first year of International Women’s Day (IWD) was celebrated in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. On that day more than a million women and men attended International Women’s Day rallies for a woman’s right to work outside the home, to vote, and to hold elected office. International Women’s Day gained momentum spreading to more countries, and in 1975 the United Nations began acknowledging and celebrating it (https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Timeline). For over one hundred years IWD has both celebrated the achievements of women and advocated for a more equitable future. However, while progress has been made in the boardroom, governance, and policies, the inequities remain. Women are not paid equally nor are they represented in equal numbers in the board room or in politics. Women’s education and health are lagging, which was exasperated by the pandemic.

Now it is even more critical that we celebrate the resilience, innovation, and leadership of women worldwide and #AccelerateAction, this year’s IWD rallying theme.

Loudly celebrating International Women’s Day is crucial for several reasons. It centers the inequalities that persist in education, employment, healthcare, and politics; it honors the contributions and achievements of women both in our history, and now, in our modernity, exhorting younger generations to build and pursue their aspirations; it amplifies women’s voices, fostering solidarity and support among diverse communities. Ultimately, International Women’s Day advocates for systemic change and encourages social solidarity with gender equity initiatives. It promotes a culture of respect and self-efficacy, essential for building inclusive societies with leadership that helps everyone to thrive.

Members of the International Leadership Association continue to make significant contributions to advancing equity for women around the world through their diverse research and advocacy work. Whether it is conducting groundbreaking studies on gender and leadership, creating leadership development initiatives that support women and individuals who are gender-minoritized, or implementing mentoring and coaching programs, these leadership scholars and practitioners are addressing systemic barriers with evidence-based approaches. By analyzing challenges, highlighting success stories, and developing practical frameworks for change, our members are not only expanding the academic understanding of gender equity but also creating tangible pathways forward.

There are many illustrations of ILA members working in this leadership space of gender equity. Mike’s recent work with women scientists in India is one such example. We invite ILA members to share on the HubILA listserv in Intersections, their work in this area. Keep scrolling to see two upcoming events and find links to some of ILA’s resources, co-created with ILA members, in this area.

Spotlight Story

Last month (February 2025), I had the privilege of working in India with more than two hundred women scientists from the Space Industry. I often approach my work with ILA’s purpose in mind and the project supporting access to public leadership for women professionals who are already outstanding leaders in their respective fields felt like just the right thing to be doing. Co-created with India’s Department of Science and Technology, the Women in Space and Allied Sciences Leadership Programme (WiSLP) is working with the best Indian women scientists within a framework that resonates and responds to contexts, challenges, concerns, and opportunities for women’s academic leadership in space and allied sciences in India. Grounded in contemporary realism, the WiSLP has set out to define what might be possible to change. It is looking at the networks and institutions that need to be involved and committed to that change and, importantly, is examining the competences and the skills that need to be strengthened in order to make progress. The high energy sessions from early until late, taking small steps to a big goal, have focused on creative and clear communications and on extending participants’ confidence in areas outside their excellence in science.

Upcoming Opportunities & Additional Resources

Celebrate with us on 8 March with a webinar at 11am EST (UTC-5) featuring four dynamic African women leaders who will share their stores of resilience and successes. ILA members, be sure to register (free) to attend live or watch later on-demand. Non-members are also welcome for a small fee.

Mike and I also encourage you to participate in the upcoming ILA Women and Leadership Conference 11-13 June at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California.

We leave you with some of ILA’s recent work in this area co-created with ILA members.

Podcast: The Power of Latino Leadership
ILA’s 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Juana Bordas talks about her life’s work and The Power of Latino Leadership ¡Ahora!

Podcast: Conscious Objectivity
ILA’s 2023 Distinguished Leadership Award Winner, The Right Honourable Beverly McLachlin, former Chief Justice of Canada, discusses conscious objectivity and the work leaders need to do to actually hear opposing viewpoints through the noise of built in cognitive biases.

Podcast: Persistent, Patient, and Creative H.E. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Croatia’s 4th President (2015-2020) and first female President share her story. She is an expert on international diplomacy, security, and human rights.

Video: Accelerating the Path to Corporate Leadership for All Women- A Conversation with Stella Nkomo
There is still a long journey to transform the face of senior leadership in corporate America and achieve racial and gender equality in organizations. ILA Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Stella Nkomo, shares her insights into what leaders can do.

Book Buzz – Pathways into the Political Arena: The Perspectives of Global Women Leaders (Members Only)
Authors Chrys Egan and Dionne Rosser-Mims discuss their book Pathways into the Political Arena: The Perspectives of Global Women Leaders.

Blog: Leaving Leadership
ILA Fellow Richard Bolden delves into what the surprise resignations of Nicola Sturgeon and Jacinda Ardern reveal about today’s toxic leadership contexts, what it means to be a “strong leader,” and how leaders transition out of their roles.

Blog: Leadership Concerns Us in the Plural
In honor of International Women’s Day, Dr. Rita A. Gardiner reflects on suffrage movements around the world, the need for camaraderie and abiding friendships to help propel social movements forward, and how social movements demonstrate that leadership concerns us in the plural, not I in the singular.

Webinar: Nerve: Remaining True to Yourself When Leading (Members Only)
Martha Piper and Indira Samarasekera share personal stories and lessons learned while serving as the first women presidents of two major Canadian universities. The Right Honourable Kim Campbell, 19th Prime Minister of Canada, moderates.

Editors: Dr. Innocent Assoman (Kansas State University), Dr. Anisah Ari (Kansas Leadership Center), Dr. Jackline Oluoch-Aridi (Notre Dame Global), Dr. Trisha Gott (Kansas State University), Dr. Brandon Kliewer (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), Dr. Jillian Martin (Duke University), Dr. Hilary Okeguale (Afe Babalola University Nigeria), Dr. Brandy Walker, and Mr. Macharia Gauntundu (Kansas State University)

Anticipated publication date of April 2026, Emerald Publishing.

Abstracts should be between 100–350 words submitted on or before 11:59 PM EST, 10 January 2025, for full consideration. Submissions are welcome on a broad range of topics including (but not limited) to the topics in the draft outline below. Send submissions to: BLBSubmissions@gmail.com.

This book is intended to invite and advance complex discussions on processes and practices of leadership in Africa. Leadership practices and processes that shape communities, that work inside, outside, and beyond (authorized/ing) institutions; that decolonize, resist, adapt, shift, challenge, and frighten those outside leadership work. “Proverbs and Riddles for Leadership: Building Bridges for Practice From Africa” seeks to build bridges between what is “known” as characteristic of “Leadership in Africa”, and to expose the under-theorized mundane practices, and processes, and other ways of knowing that are contextually grounded within Africa.

Proverbs are the cliché hallmarks of an African safari: If you know a greeting in Kiswahili, if you can utter pithy statements in Xhosa, you have proven to be one with the ‘folk’, you ‘know the people’. Left here, this stance is problematic. Such an understanding re-creates and re-transmits stereotypes while enclosing everyone involved into echo chambers that inhibit dialogue, and possibilities for learning, together. Proverbs and riddles are bound to a dynamic process of co-creation that is at the heart of the community. Their meanings and interpretations are often contradictory and change just as their community of origin. Taken out of context, they are meaningless. Thus, we are reminded that our lives, our worlds, and the meanings we attach to them are invariably linked to the lives, worlds, and meanings of other people – those around us, those we surround.

Africa is often depicted as a homogenous country lacking in ‘great leaders’ and in need of lessons from the West. This ignores how the contextually situated peoples and communities engage in leadership practice and process and forecloses dialogue on how power dynamics shape discourses of leadership in civic and organizational contexts across Africa. Sharing processes, practices, and ways of knowing leadership work from and through African perspectives is the focus of this work, to center Africa through building an intentional record of scholarship reflective of emergent leadership work. This volume will shed light on processes, and practice of leadership evident through social movements, community work, cross-sector collaboration and collective efforts. Practitioner and scholar contributions are invited from the global community with a focus on those based in or from Africa. Proverbs and riddles that will frame each chapter will be from communities throughout the African continent.

This book will be published by Emerald Publishing as part of the Building Leadership Bridges series by the International Leadership Association with an anticipated publication date of April 2026.

DRAFT OUTLINE

Submissions are welcome on a broad range of topics including (but not limited) to the following draft outline:

Section One: Disturbing the Peace

Exploring Emergent process, practices, and a practice of Leadership that disrupts authorized(zing) narratives.
Removing the podium: Discourses to Decolonize Small “d” Democratic Practice in Africa
Leadership-as-Practice; Not as Perfect — Decolonizing, Recognizing and Naming Culturally Relevant Leadership Process and Practice
Negotiating Ideologies of Feminism(s) in the African Contexts

Section Two: Promises of Peace

Transformation & Community Change – Frameworks for Change
Prioritizing human dignity and African Sovereignty in Peacebuilding, and the integration of new ways
Examining the Role and Elevating the Need for Discourse Among State and Non-State Actors in Peacebuilding in East Africa

Section Three: African Discourses of Leadership, Practice, and Democracy

Discourses of Leadership and Understanding Democratic Backsliding
Enter the Dialectic: Discourses to Rebuild African Practices of Democracy
Economic Development as a Leadership Practice — Exploring New Models
The Outsider Lens-In: Focusing on Efficacy International Legal Instrument for Peace Leadership in Africa

Section Four: National Needs in a Continental Context

Wrestling with the position of national priorities, continental priorities, community needs and priorities
Pan-African Leadership: Making Room for Expanded Orientations
Philosophies that Frame Leadership in Africa Today

Image of Women tree strumming butterflies

Editors: Drs. Lazarina Topuzova (Robert Morris University), Kem Gambrell (Gonzaga University), and Sydney Richardson (North Carolina A & T State University).

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Deadline: Submit your chapter title and a 500-word abstract for your proposed chapters by 9 December 2024 to keepingthefireeditors@gmail.com.

Timeline

9 December 2024: Prospective authors submit a title and abstract up to 500 words describing their proposed chapter.

5 January 2025: Editors inform authors whose chapters have been selected for inclusion in the book.

1 May 2025: Authors submit chapters of 5000 words, exclusive of references, to editors.

1 September 2025: Editors provide feedback to authors.

15 October 2025: Authors submit final chapter revisions to editors.

June 2026: Estimated publication.

Description of the Book

Women who “keep the fire” are the activists, changemakers, and thought leaders in their community of belonging. In this edited book, Keeping the Fire: Narratives of Women Leaders Embracing Community, part of ILA’s Transformative Women Leaders series, published by Emerald Publishing, we seek to explore the theme of women as community leaders and how women lead through relationality, harnessing their agency, influence, and understanding of relational dynamics. This work will capture how women engage in relationality within their communities, including how they make sense of, navigate, and influence others to create change, wellbeing, and thriving within their communities. As community leaders, we describe community as a place in terms of location and proximity to the women, evoking feelings of home.

Alice Eagly and Linda Carli’s (2009) seminal work, Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders (Center for Public Leadership), launched the notion of women’s “leadership” and has since been more prominent in scholarship and literature. In these efforts to bring women forward, researchers and authors have continued to use mainstream theories, often developed, and measured with masculine systems and organizations in mind, to explain how women lead (i.e. Gaucher, Friesen, & Kay, 2011; Koenig et al., 2011). In doing so, we propose that the same binary and contrasting evidence is found, which depicts women and how women engage in influencing relationality, through the same lens. Not only does this severely limit the authentic understanding of women as leaders and people of influence in their communities, but also continues to perpetuate the linear notion that leader = leading = leadership, negating the complex dynamics between individuals, groups, and communities.

While scholarly efforts have helped promote an investigation into women’s leadership, using dominant, male-centered paradigms and methods has resulted in evidence and findings that present a limited view of the complex ways in which women lead and engage in relationships. Furthermore, there is research to suggest that only stereotype-consistent information will be generalized across members of a group (see Stangor & McMillan, 1992), which not only reflects in how (epistemology and assumptions) research on women is conducted, but also carries assumptive theoretical applications, as well as participant implicit biases and the like.

The theme of this volume focuses on women within community and how they develop their use of agency, influence, sense of responsibility and accountability, and their understanding of relationality as an organic evolution of leadership, and as an embodiment of other aspects of leadership. This notion goes beyond the leader paradigm asking authors for insights into how women think about relationality, including context, responsibility towards, and personal accountability, and how they engage in collective work for the greater needs of the community. We seek chapters that highlight stories, narratives, and portraits exploring the lived experiences of women who inspire, influence, and ultimately transform their communities. The intent of capturing these stories of women “who keep the fire” is to center the everyday work of women who create and sustain change for the betterment of their communities.

We are specifically interested in authors who examine intersectional identities by capturing the stories and lived experiences of women leading in their communities outside of the traditional leadership models. We seek chapters from various perspectives and methodologies illuminating stories of women community leaders. These chapters should focus on, but are not limited to:

Women community change agents and people of influence in history;
Narratives of transformative women community leaders as individuals or with a connected group.
Critical qualitative studies of women community leaders and ways in which they disrupt traditional notions and applications of leadership within community.
Global women change agents/community leaders, providing accounts of non-Western forms of keeping the fire through care work, advocacy, policy change, and more.
Phenomenological, ethnographic, portraits, narratives, case studies, and/or auto ethnographic insights into the essence of what it means to “keep the fire.”
Future directions of community leadership for women considering questions such as: What new challenges might arise? What new practices should be considered when furthering community leadership/change agency for women?
Critical qualitative methodologies to further the practice of community leadership individually and collectively.
Ways of being in order to move out of a leader=leadership paradigm and towards a collective system and communityship understanding.
Ways in which the intersectional identities and roles of women contribute to or challenge the work of being a community leader/change agent.

References

Eagly, A. H., & Carli, L. L. (2007). Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders. Harvard Business School Press.

Gaucher, D., Friesen, J. and Kay, A. C. (2011). Evidence That Gendered Wording in Job Advertisements Exists and Sustains Gender Inequality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(1), 109 –128. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022530

Koenig, A. M., Eagly, A., Mitchell, A. A., & Ritstikari, T. (2011). Are Leader Stereotypes Masculine? A Meta-Analysis of Three Research Paradigms. Psychological Bulletin, 137(4), 616–642. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023557

Stangor, C., & McMillan, D. (1992). Memory for Expectancy-Congruent and Expectancy-Incongruent Information: A Review of the Social and Social Developmental Literatures. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 42–61. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.111.1.42

About the Editors

Dr. Lazarina N. Topuzova brings over 15 years of experience teaching and training in the fields of organizational research and program evaluation, diversity, and intercultural communication. She currently is a Professor in the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership, School of Communication and Media, Robert Morris University. Her current research interests and expertise are in developing leadership capacity in community and grassroots organizations, leadership for peace, women in leadership, as well as best practices in online teaching and learning in leadership education. Dr Topuzova is the former coeditor of the Journal of Hate Studies and past Chair of the Leadership for Peace Community of the International Leadership Association.

Dr. Sydney D. Richardson is an Associate Professor of Leadership Studies at North Carolina A&T State University. Her research focuses on aspects of leadership education, women entrepreneurs and entre-employees, and community leadership among marginalized populations. With over fifteen years in higher education, Dr. Richardson has served in faculty and administrative roles across various institutions. She has a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Cultural Studies with a specialization in Women and Gender Studies from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Dr. Kem Gambrell is an Anglo educator and scholar with over twenty years in academia. Her perspectives, research, and teaching have been deeply influenced and inspired by collectivist communities and ideologies, especially those that center on relationality and the desire to develop thriving and well-being for self, others, the collective, and the earth. Her writings include topics such as anti-racist practices in the classroom, communityship, women in higher education, Indigenous collectivism, Lakota women leaders, decolonized alliances, and cultivating leadership. She currently serves as an associate professor and chairperson in the Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University.

As an Amazon Affiliate ILA may earn a small amount from qualifying purchases (at no extra charge to you) when you click on a link to a book above. Thank you for your support!

Leadership for Public Purpose Classification Panel at ILA Chicago

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Leadership for Public Purpose News!

On March 7-8, at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, the 30th Kravis-de Roulet Leadership Conference will convene campus representatives from the 25 distinguished institutions that have been honored with the inaugural 2024 Carnegie Elective Classification for Leadership for Public Purpose. This event serves as an important opportunity for these representatives to engage in meaningful discussions and share insights related to effective leadership for public purpose, teaching this discipline, and examples of leadership for public purpose initiatives.

25 U.S. colleges and universities, including 17 who are affiliated with the International Leadership Association, have been recognized as leaders in this groundbreaking initiative and been named an inaugural Carnegie Leadership for Public Purpose Classification recipient.

The inaugural Carnegie Leadership for Public Purpose Classification recognizes institutions that are building a generation of leaders dedicated to the public good through their commitment to “campus-wide efforts to advance leadership in pursuit of public goods like justice, equity, diversity, and liberty” something aligns perfectly with ILA’s purpose to “advance the practice and study of leadership for a just and thriving future.”

ILA Members Take Center Stage

ILA members have been instrumental in this initiative, playing key roles from the very beginning. Furthermore, as ILA President Cynthia Cherrey shared, “The Leadership for Public Purpose Classification works beautifully in synergy with the work of ILA’s Committee for the Advancement of Leadership Programs.” Two of the key publications that have come out of the committee, Guiding Questions: Guidelines for Leadership Education Programs and General Principles for Leadership Programs can be utilized by those applying for the classification as they consider their institutions approach to leadership education and development. Cherrey expressed her appreciation for the work of committee members past and present and to those who have served as “bridges between both initiatives.”

ILA’s Role on The National Advisory Council

The ILA is proud to play a part in this initiative and to have ILA members serving on the Leadership for Public Purpose National Advisory Committee. Established to advise on updates to the classification and on best practices in the field, the committee’s key responsibilities are to act as ambassadors for the classification, advise on framework revisions, advise on the review process and reviewer qualifications, and advise on policies and programming as requested. ILA members on the committee include Bruce Avolio, David Day, Jennifer Moss Breen, Michael Chikeleze, Jonathan Heller, Stefanie Johnson, Donnette Noble, Cindy Pace, Sherylle Tan, and Cynthia Cherrey.

Marisol Morales, the Executive Director of the Carnegie Elective Classifications at the American Council on Education speaking at ILA’s Global Conference in Chicago, November 2024

Will Your Institution Be the Next Recipient?

ILA is offering resources to help institutions interested in the Leadership for Public Purpose Classification. CALP is piloting a consulting arm to both guide aspiring applicants and work with recipients on achieving the goals they set in their application. Additionally, ILA’s Global Conference in Chicago features insightful sessions:

Presidential Leadership for Public Purpose: Insights from the Carnegie Elective Classification — Distinguished leaders at inaugural recipient institutions will discuss how they are embedding public purpose into their core missions and how leadership at the presidential and provostial levels can drive meaningful, lasting impact in their communities and beyond.
Carnegie Elective Classification for Leadership for Public Purpose: Advancing DEIB in Higher Ed — Discover how Valparaiso University used the classification process to energize their campus around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Using the ILA “General Principles for Leadership Programs” in Your Organization — Workshop attendees will explore ILA’s “General Principles for Leadership Programs” and how to integrate them into program design and review.

The next round of applications begins 13 January 2025 and runs through 10 April 2026.

A Hearty Congratulations to ILA Organizational Members Who Received the Inaugural Leadership for Public Purpose Classification!

Arizona State University

Fort Hays State University

Gettysburg College

James Madison University

Rice University

Simmons University

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

U.S. Coast Guard Academy

U.S. Naval Academy

Valparaiso University

Congratulations to ILA Individual Members Contributing to the Leadership Work at These Inaugural Recipient Organizations

Claremont McKenna College

Creighton University

Montclair State University

Oklahoma State University

Oral Roberts University

University of Cincinnati

Wartburg College

And Congratulations to The Rest of the 2024 Recipients!

Boise State University

California State University-Fresno

East Carolina University

Florida International University

Miami Dade College

Saint Peter’s University

San Antonio College

University of Portland

Partnership

The ILA is proud to be part of this initiative by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and is pleased to partner with the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University as active participants on the advisory council.

Photo of book with spooky sparklies emerging

Editors: Professor Richard Bolden (University of the West of England), Dr. Rachel Wolfgramm (University of Auckland) and Dr. Neil Sutherland (UCL School of Management)

Anticipated publication date of April 2027, Emerald Publishing

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Overview

In an age of complexity, contestation and change what are the hidden forces that influence the nature and outcomes of leadership? Through the metaphor of ‘ghost leadership’, this book explores the unseen, unheard, unsettling and uncanny aspects of leadership. Themes and examples include the legacy of colonialism and patriarchy within organizations and society; the environmental and social impacts of neoliberalism; the hidden curriculum of business schools and leadership education; the continuing allure of theories that have long since been debunked; the influence of social media on leaders and followers; hidden forces, conspiracies and puppet leaders; invisible, departed and/or accidental leaders; the role of faith and fear of mortality in leadership; ghosts in the machine (AI, algorithms and the gig economy); and ethics and identities in a post human world. As an edited volume, this book will include high-quality conceptual and empirical works that draw from a range of methodologies and research techniques. Chapters will include discussions that will demonstrate extensions to current theory and practice, as well as developing entirely new ideas related to Ghost Leadership designed to contribute insight to the broader field of leadership and organization studies. Through engaging with this book readers will gain a more nuanced critical appreciation of the ways in which leadership and social influence take place within a complex and changing world and implications for leadership policy, practice, research and development globally.

Theme/focus of the book

To provide new conceptual insights and communicate these to a wide audience this book uses the metaphor of ghost leadership, which we broadly conceptualize as social influence through invisible and/or obscured processes. Ghost leadership:

may have specific objectives and be purposeful, however, how forces of influence produce tangible outcomes may not be easily determined.
may derive from current leadership or can be an active relic/legacy from previous leadership cultures, which suggests a level of indoctrination and acculturation.
can emanate from outside forces, such as an ideology, or an actual entity with power to influence utilizing propaganda campaigns, media/social media and marketing.
can originate from inside forces, such as when an influential group or leader in an organization embraces a particular belief system and inculcates their newly acquired values into new generations of leaders through verbal and non-verbal communication.
may lead to pro-social and pro-environmental behavior, or anti-social behavior with disingenuous consequences.

A range of complementary and contrasting perspectives will be considered throughout the book to identify and theorize the unseen, unheard, unsettling and uncanny aspects of ghost leadership.

This book has been commissioned as part of the Building Leadership Bridges series from the International Leadership Association in partnership with Emerald Publishing. A more detailed outline can be accessed at https://bit.ly/ghostleadership.

Preparing and Submitting Chapter Proposals

Authors are encouraged to propose chapters that provide a distinct conceptual contribution to the notion of ‘ghost leadership’ through empirical research (qualitative, quantitative and/or mixed-methods), case studies (of global corporations, public-sector bureaucracies, social enterprises, entrepreneurial ventures, etc.), engagement with practice and/or theory-building.

Chapters may explore a range of topics including but not limited to:

History/culture – g. continuing legacy of colonialism, patriarchy, etc. embedded in organizational and social structures… hidden in plain sight by presenting itself as the norm, with patterns of inequality continually reproduced over time.
Economic/managerial – e.g. the triumph of neo-liberalism, and sanctity of how ‘the market’ dominates all other ways of thinking leading to irreparable social and environmental damage (for example, Adam Smith’s ‘invisible hand’, and the performativity of ‘leadership’ discourse).
Teaching and learning – g. the hidden curriculum and the role of business schools in perpetuating particular ideologies of management and leadership; leadership and management education as a rite of passage; liminal spaces and identity work; critical approaches to teaching leadership.
Leadership theory – e.g. the enduring influence of canonical ‘mainstream’ leadership and management theory/research even when ideas have been extensively developed or debunked.
Ghosts and Zombies in social media – e.g. social media usage amongst leaders and followers; anonymity, contagion and anarchy in social media.
Mysterious forces, conspiracies and ‘puppet’ leaders – e.g. the influence from mysterious/hidden forces, such as interference in political elections, social media influencers, press/media, criminal underworld, secret groups. Who’s really calling the shots?
Led by the dead – e.g. the continuing allure and influence of heroic and/or dead leaders; martyred leaders as enduring symbols of the struggle; putting the deceased on a pedestal so that their ideas and practices become unquestionable.
The leader who doesn’t know it – e.g. the notion that people who follow are influenced by others without their knowledge.
Leadership and mortality – e.g. the power and responsibilities of leadership, and the inevitable loss of power (and life); fear of mortality and defenses against anxiety.
Invisible leadership – e.g. a compelling sense of purpose as the key driver of leadership beyond individuals; social movements and public narrative; symbolism in social movements.
Leadership and faith – e.g. the messiah as leader; leadership in service of a bigger spiritual/moral cause; differing interpretations but ideas often beyond challenge; sacrifice.
The myth of leadership – e.g. leadership portrayed as a significant force for change but this may be illusory; leadership as an empty signifier filled with whatever people want to put into it; provides a sense of reassurance that someone is in charge/there is a plan… when there isn’t.
The Ghost in the machine – g. leadership and AI; algorithmic leadership and the gig economy.
Ghost Leadership beyond humans – e.g. ethics and identities in a post human world.

Potential authors are invited to submit a 750-1000-word overview (excluding references) of the proposed focus/content of their chapter to blbsubmissions@gmail.com by Monday 18^th November 2024. Notification of outcomes will be communicated by January 2025, with an initial submission deadline of June 2025 for first draft. Final chapters should be around 5000 words (excluding references). We are particularly keen to receive submissions from junior and emerging scholars and researchers/practitioners from the global South.

Please feel free to contact the editorial team (contact info in links below) to discuss your proposal before submitting – we look forward to hearing from you!

Edited by Professor Richard Bolden (University of the West of England), Dr. Rachel Wolfgramm (University of Auckland) and Dr. Neil Sutherland (UCL School of Management)

Editors:
Chrys Egan, Salisbury University
Stacy Smulowitz , University of Scranton
Mary Tabata, Phinishing Strong LLC

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The purpose of the book Inspirational Women Leaders: The Challenges and Rewards of Religion, Spirituality, Purpose, and Calling in Leadership is to explore the rewards and challenges that women leaders face as shaped by religion and spirituality, the impact of historical and contemporary women religious leaders on religious practice and on society writ large, how women leaders practice spiritual leadership, expanding the boundaries of spirituality or religion to leadership in daily life and work, finding and exploring a sense of leadership purpose, recognizing and following a calling or vocation, positive and negative impacts of religion and spirituality on leadership and society, religious and spiritual diversity and inclusion, and more.

We seek chapters on a variety of perspectives on transformative women religious leaders and spiritual leadership, including, but not limited to the following:

Features about women and/or communities of women leaders who are leading religious or spiritual organizations or places of worship, describing their leadership challenges and rewards. This may include women religious activists, theologians, scholars, spiritual leaders, interfaith leaders, teachers, musicians, volunteers, etc.
Models of spiritual leadership, according to religious practices and belief systems, including Baha’i Faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Daoism, Earth-based, Hinduism, Indigenous, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, , Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, and others.
The impact of historical women religious leaders on contemporary women leaders and followers.
Auto-ethnographic stories by transformative women leaders that include their religious and spiritual challenges and rewards.
The significance of “purpose,” “calling,” and/or “vocation” to the practice of spiritual leadership.
Applications of spiritual leadership concepts such as stewardship, trustworthiness, compassion, and more, in contexts outside of religion, such as work and community.
Leading through obstacles such as religious and spiritual beliefs used in international and interpersonal conflicts.
Religious and spiritual diversity and inclusion.
Other related topics.

About TRANSFORMATIVE WOMEN LEADERS

The Transformative Women Leaders Series is published in collaboration between the International Leadership Association (ILA) and Emerald Publishing. Celebrating women leaders and the leadership styles they employ to achieve success, the books in this series highlight successful context-specific leadership approaches and the moral qualities of endurance. Serving as a model and inspiration for young women leaders entering the workforce and for women leaders currently facing challenges, it provides a community for women leaders around the world.

The series is edited by members of ILA’s Women and Leadership member community.

Chrys Egan, Salisbury University, USA
Dionne Rosser-Mims, Troy University, USA
Randal Joy Thompson, Fielding Graduate University, USA

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Have an Idea for an Edited Volume?

The Transformative Women Leaders series has an ongoing, open call for proposals. Proposals should be for edited volumes with unique chapter authors obtained either through an open call for chapters, invited chapters, or a combination of the two — not authored manuscripts. If you are interested in editing or co-editing such a volume, please submit your idea using the Book Proposal button below.

The first two books in ILA's new series are now available for pre-order.

Learn more and reserve your copy of Genderwashing in Leadership: Power, Policies, and Politics and Women Embodied Leaders: Peacebuilding, Protest, and Professions.

The International Leadership Association (ILA) is pleased to collaborate with Emerald Publishing on Transformative Women Leaders, a dynamic exploration of women leaders who are making a difference in their communities and organizations around the world. Providing both inspiration and model, the series delves into the “why” behind these leaders’ journeys, exploring the barriers they face and the unique perspectives and approaches they bring to leadership. These women are not simply overcoming obstacles, they’re redefining what leadership is and demonstrating the power of diverse voices to drive creative innovation and catalyze global transformations that impact the globe’s systemic challenges.

Transformative Women Leaders continues the work of the ILA’s groundbreaking series, Women and Leadership: Research, Theory, and Practice, which presented cutting-edge research, robust theoretical frameworks, and practical applications that sparked vital dialogue around the advancement of women in leadership. This new series advances the conversation by presenting additional, compelling evidence of women’s unique leadership approaches and their effectiveness in various contexts. These practical examples will further equip women with the knowledge and know-how they need to navigate the leadership landscape. Importantly, Transformative Women Leaders will fuel further research into the complexities and intersections of gender and leadership.

Both series were conceived of, led by, and worked on by members of ILA’s Women and Leadership member community, part of ILA’s global community of leaders and leadership researchers, educators, and development specialists who believe that leadership is the key to a just and thriving future for all. We are proud that Transformative Women Leaders contributes to advancing the work outlined in ILA’s mission, vision, and purpose, and provides an exciting opportunity for people to connect and engage with one another while exploring innovative thinking, creating new resources, and multiplying our collective impact for the good of people and planet.

Thank you all of the current and future chapter authors and volume editors and especially to series editors Chrys Egan, Dionne Rosser-Mims, and Randal Joy Thompson for bringing this vision to life.

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Photo of committee members at the Warren Bennis Leadership Experience

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International Leadership Association President and CEO Cynthia Cherrey was recently honored to receive and accept an invitation to serve on the inaugural Warren Bennis Leadership Council. The Council, chaired by Warren’s daughter Kate Bennis, brings together noted scholars and business professionals who worked closely with Bennis. Additional Council members include Betsy Myers, who also serves as Senior Adviser at UC’s Warren Bennis Leadership Institute, as well as Ken Blanchard, Bob Castellini, Ken Cloke, Doug Conant, Bill George, Joline Godfrey, Joan Goldsmith, Tom Peters, Raj Sisodia, Dick Thornburgh, and Pat Zigarmi.

Bennis was involved in the ILA from the beginning as a keynote speaker at the first Leaders/Scholars conference in 1998 (the precursor to the ILA) held at the University of Southern California, where Cherrey served as the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs. He was awarded the ILA Distinguished Leadership Award in 2007 and was an inaugural recipient of ILA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. Cherrey explained how Warren’s leadership research paved the way for the emerging field of leadership studies. “Warren’s work, along with James McGregor Burns and many others, helped to lay the foundation for leadership as a discipline and a field of study.”

Members of the Council gathered at the University of Cincinnati in April to meet each other and share their connection with Bennis. While there, they participated in the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute Summit — an invitation only event engaging business, community, and academic leaders. Cherrey served on a panel at the Summit. After the Summit, she also participated in the annual Warren Bennis Leadership Experience where she had the pleasure of interacting with faculty and students passionate about furthering the leadership work at the University of Cincinnati. Cherrey commented, “The events were stellar and not just because they took place during the total eclipse on 8 April!”

ILA congratulates Marianne Lewis, Dean of the Carl H. Lindner College of Business and member Donna Chrobot-Mason, Academic Director of the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute, for their leadership of the Institute and its commitment to research, executive education, and preparation of our future leaders.

Expressing her gratitude, Cherrey remarked, “Thank you, Kate Bennis, for bringing us together to deepen your dad’s legacy and connection to the University of Cincinnati where he served as the 22nd president of the university, and thank you, Betsy Myers, for your belief in each of us doing our part to further Warren’s leadership.”

Photo of Cynthia Cherrey on stage at Christopher Newport University with the two hosts of the PLP Show

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ILA President & CEO Cynthia Cherrey took to the main stage last month as a speaker in Christopher Newport University’s (CNU’s) President’s Leadership Program (PLP) speaker series. This popular series is done in a late-night talk show style, “The PLP Show.” Prior speakers have included Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State, and ILA Lifetime Achievement award winner Dr. Barbara Kellerman, among others. Dr. Cherrey’s talk was entertaining and thought provoking. CNU students shared this was one of the best PLP talks they have attended.

In addition to speaking, Dr. Cherrey met with the CNU leadership studies faculty, interacted with student leaders, and attended a dinner hosted by CNU President William G. Kelly.

When asked about her experience, Dr. Cherrey shared, “I thoroughly enjoyed my time at CNU meeting with faculty, students, and staff to discuss their leadership program and how the ILA can continue to support their leadership work. Being on the main stage for the ‘talk show’ was an extraordinary experience with student hosts Amanda Wilfong and Ethan Bower and an engaged audience of over 1,000 students and faculty.”

As longtime organizational members, thank you, Christopher Newport University, for your leadership research, teaching, and preparation of our future leaders.

Photo of Cheryl Getz standing in a D-Lab Session

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ILA President & CEO Cynthia Cherrey and ILA Board Director Mike Hardy attended ILA’s inaugural Dialogue Lab (D-Lab) last month hosted at the University of San Diego. The D-Lab’s central convening question was, “How might we exercise leadership that responds meaningfully to the issues of this moment?”

Attendees began the experience with a community building activity and a welcome ceremony that included a land acknowledgement. Throughout the D-Lab, participatory inquiry sessions punctuated immersive group experiences such as a morning spent in the community visiting Via International, Pan y Paz, Café X, and Chicano Park.

The ILA thanks the many members and colleagues who were part of the ILA Dialogue Lab and who came together at the University of San Diego to share in an experimental leadership journey of dialogue and inquiry.

Cherrey shared, “I especially want to express my gratitude to The Design Team of prior ILA Board members who developed the content and the process; The University of San Diego students, faculty, staff; The San Diego Community organizations who sustained us with food from their cultures and nourished in us a greater sense of place and space; and most importantly the participants who engaged in this leadership journey.”

Below, you’ll find some photos from the event taken by Cherrey.

Scott and Cyn on the plenary stage at ISLC 2023 in Copenhagen

Caption: Phronesis host Scott Allen & ILA President & CEO Cynthia Cherrey onstage at ISLC in Copenhagen.

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At this year’s International Studying Leadership Conference in Copenhagen, the ILA partnered with ISLC organizers on its Plenary Symposium. Scott Allen, host of Phronesis (ILA’s official podcast), and Laura Empson, host of the Leading Professional People podcast, discussed how to conduct informed and lively public conversations about leadership that challenge conventional wisdom, extend existing theory, and inform new kinds of practice. Through insightful conversations with ILA President & CEO Cynthia Cherrey, Brad Jackson, Mary Uhl-Bien, and ILA Fellow Dennis Tourish (to name a few) they shared how the translation and dissemination of leadership research in non-academic contexts can impactfully engage a diverse range of stakeholders and contribute to systems change.

The conversation was recorded live and will be available to listen to through Phronesis soon!

ISLC 2023 Co-Chair & ILA Organizational Member Eric Guthey with ILA Board Member Gillian Secrett

Gathering at ISLC

ISLC 2023 Co-Chair Nicole Capriel Ferry, a member of ILA’s CALP committee.

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