Leadership for the Twenty-First Century

This illuminating study critiques the concept of leadership as understood in the last 75 years and looks to the twenty-first century for a reconstructed understanding of leadership in the postindustrial era. More similarities in past decades were found than had been thought; the thread throughout Joseph C. Rost's book is that leadership was conceived of as good management. Rost develops a new definition and paradigm for leadership in this volume that distinguishes leadership from management in fundamental ways. The ethics of leadership from a postindustrial perspective completes the paradigm. The book concludes with suggestions that can be immediately utilized in helping to transform our understanding of leadership.

Leadership for the Twenty-First Century states that the school of leadership characterized by good management has been in evidence all along, yet not well articulated by its proponents. The critique of leadership literature includes definitions of leadership written in each decade since 1930, which are grouped in patterns of thought and analyzed. A chapter is devoted to the concept of leadership in the 1980s, when an explosion of literature appeared. Those studying public administration, applied business issues, and communications will be interested in this fascinating work.