About Traditional Classics on Leadership
Leadership might be thought of as the process that facilitates the achievement of group or societal objectives. As such, it has been at the centre of learned reflection and debate from earliest times. Philosophers, religious leaders, political theorists, and reformers have struggled with (and argued about) the moral purpose of leadership, how individuals and societies can go about achieving desired ends, and what role leaders and followers play in the process. This volume draws together in one place some of the best thinking on these and other issues from the great minds of the Western tradition. Taken together, the selections of this volume provide a rich and textured source for an initial understanding of some of the central issues of leadership. This book is an ideal reference work for scholars, leaders, and public intellectuals who are interested in the workings of leadership. It is also essential reading for students who wish to confront the deeper issues surrounding the leadership relation.
Reviews
The editors should be commended for undertaking this initiative. They have certainly succeeded in accomplishing one of their objectives which was to ‘provide easy access to the best thinking of the great minds of past and present.’ … [T]his collection is obviously ideally placed to become a valuable desk reference book. It could also form the basis of a first-rate graduate seminar on leadership…
—Brad Jackson, Journal of Management Studies
