The five leadership articles you should read in 2024
Discover the pitfalls of 'zombie leadership' and why leadership teams fail, with this reading list from one of Australia's top academics.
Want to stay up-to-date on leadership, but don't know where to start? We asked Professor Alex Newman to choose five of the best articles making an impact in 2024.
Professor Newman is the Associate Dean (Faculty) at Melbourne Business School and has been recognised by Australian Research Magazine as the country's leading researcher in the sub-disciplines of human resources and organisations, and ethics.
His selection includes a mix of easy-to-access academic and practitioner articles. The final two articles in the MIT Business Review and Harvard Business Review may require a subscription or purchase to read.
The leadership myths that just won't die
Zombie Leadership: Dead Ideas That Still Walk Among Us
Alexander Haslam, Mats Alvesson and Stephen D. Reicher
The Leadership Quarterly
Volume 35, Issue 3, June 2024
Do particular qualities, such as intelligence or charisma, equip particular people to become leaders? Media headlines like 'The Top Three Skills of Great Leaders' would certainly have you believe so.
In this article, Professor Alex Haslam from the University of Queensland and colleagues discuss ideas on leadership which have been repeatedly debunked, but which refuse to die. They call these ideas the axioms of "zombie leadership", and argue that they stay alive because they flatter and appeal to elites, to leadership practitioners and consultants, and to the anxieties of ordinary people.
Understanding these zombie ideas or myths is essential to advance our understanding of what constitutes effective leadership. For a start, the authors argue, leadership only exists in the relationship between a leader and the people who follow them – not in the leader alone.
"Leadership is a group process and ultimately about the activities of collectives not just individuals," they write.
Could AI do a better job at leading people?
The Now, New, and Next of Digital Leadership: How Artificial Intelligence (AI) Will Take Over and Change Leadership as We Know It
Niels Van Quaquebeke and Fabiola H. Gerpott
Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies
Volume 30, Issue 3, 2023
In this article, Professors Niels Van Quaquebeke and Fabiola Gerpott set out to provide a "wake-up call" to those who believe humans could never be replaced by artificial intelligence when it comes to 'true' leadership.
They argue that while there is an emerging consensus that some management tasks could be performed by AI, the idea that AI may also be effective at leading people has not been taken seriously enough.
"In contrast to AI taking on management tasks, most scholars still tend to romanticize true human leadership, thinking that this bastion will never fall to AI," they write.
"The consensus seems to be that while traditional management roles could and maybe should be taken over by algorithms, 'true' leadership – catering to the needs of employees – will remain the province of humans.
"We question that assumption."
This is a must-read for all leaders grappling with AI and thinking about how it may impact their work.
Humour at work is serious business
Mastering the Art of Humor in Leadership: A Toolkit for Organizational Leaders
Nilupama Wijewardena, Ramanie Samaratunge and Charmine Härtel
Organizational Dynamics
Volume 53, Issue 3, July–September 2024
In this article, Dr Nilupama Wijewardena from RMIT and colleagues highlight the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to create and use strategic humour at work, and provide a humour toolkit specifically for leaders.
Acknowledging the positive benefits that humour can bring, and pointing to organisations with cultures that support humour including Google, Virgin and Southwest Airlines, the authors make the case for providing humour training to leaders so they know how to use it effectively.
The authors point out that one of the pre-conditions for using humour is that leaders must first establish high-quality relationships with employees based on trust. Other important considerations include understanding how each employee appreciates humour differently, as well as understanding the different styles of humour and their possible constructive or destructive consequences.
This article is useful for leaders who are looking to build stronger connections with their employees – or want to get a laugh in a positive way.
Simple guidelines for effective allyship
How to Become a Better Ally: Three Priorities for Leaders (may require subscription)
Meg Warren and Tejvir Sekhon
MIT Sloan Management Review
July, 2024M
In this article, Meg Warren and Tejvir Sekhon explore allyship interventions in the workplace, which are increasingly being seen as an alternative to top-down DEI initiatives for increasing diversity within organisations.
Based on research examining the effectiveness of various types of allyship interventions, the authors provide a simple three-part framework through which leaders can identify specific goals to focus their allyship interventions on. These include addressing transgressions, advancing marginalised employees and scaling up allyship awareness and behaviours.
This article is useful for leaders who are looking to foster workplaces where diversity, equity and inclusion is supported. It makes for good reading alongside the recent work of Melbourne Business School Associate Professor Deshani Ganegoda, whose latest research explores the most effective ways to garner support for social justice initiatives at work, and specifically, the different situations in which allies or members of disadvantaged groups are most effective for leading advocacy appeals.
What goes wrong with leadership teams?
Why Leadership Teams Fail: And What To Do About It (may require subscription)
Thomas Keil and Marianna Zangrillo
Harvard Business Review
September–October 2024
Trying to work with a dysfunctional leadership team is a common challenge for CEOs, but one that is rarely spoken about publicly. In this article, Thomas Keil and Marianna Zangrillo highlight the main types of dysfunction that impact leadership teams, based on research with more than 100 CEOs and senior executives.
The authors coin terms for three main patterns of dysfunction: the shark tank, leadership teams characterised by infighting and political manoeuvring; the petting zoo, teams characterised by conflict avoidance and an overemphasis on collaboration; and the mediocracy, teams characterised by complacency, a lack of competence, and a debilitative focus on past successes.
They then offer solutions for addressing each type of dysfunction, drawing on real-world examples from top CEOs. This article should be useful for leadership teams to identify different types of dysfunction and how to avoid them, and also for senior managers who may want to better understand the dynamics going on within their own organisation.
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