Leadership pervades every aspect of organizational and social life, and its study has never been more diverse, nor more fertile. With contributions from those who have defined that territory, this volume is not only a key point of reference for researchers, students and practitioners, but also an agenda-setting prospective and retrospective look at the state of leadership in the twenty-first century. It evaluates the domain and stretches it further by considering leadership scholarship from every angle, concluding with an optimistic look at the future of leaders, followers and their place in organizations and society at large.

Each section represents a distinctive slant on leadership:

- Macro perspectives - including strategic leadership, organization theory, charismatic leadership, complexity leadership, and networks.

- Political and philosophical perspectives - including distributed leadership, critical leadership, ethics, the military and cults.

- Psychological perspectives - including personality, leadership style and contingency theories, transformational leadership, exchange relationships, shared leadership, cognition, leadership development, gender, trust, identity and the 'dark side' of leadership.

- Cultural perspectives - including spirituality, aesthetics, and creativity.

- Contemporary and emergent perspectives - followership, historical methods, virtual leadership, emotions, image, celebrity, and the quest for a general theory of leadership