“One big problem is that much leadership training and development has become too much a form of lay preaching, telling people inspiring stories about heroic leaders and exceptional organizations and, in the process, making those who hear the stories feel good and temporarily uplifted while not changing much of what happens at many workplaces.” (p. 6)

Reference

Pfeffer, J. (2015). Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time. New York: Harper Business.

“Numerous other problems help account for why there has been so little positive change in workplaces or careers. Here’s one of the more important: There are no “barriers to entry” into the leadership industry; no credentials, rigorous research, knowledge of the relevant scientific evidence, or anything else required to pass oneself off as a leadership expert. Anyone and everyone can write a book, be a leadership speaker or a blogger, offer consulting and advice, or start a leadership-development or consulting firm.” (p. 24)

Reference

Pfeffer, J. (2015). Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time. New York: Harper Business.

“The way leadership gurus try to demonstrate their legitimacy is not through their scientific knowledge or accomplishments but rather by achieving public notoriety – be it the requisite TED talks, blog posts, Twitter followers, or books filled with leadership advice that might or might not be valid and useful.” (p. x)

Reference

Pfeffer, J. (2015). Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time. New York: Harper Business.

“Want to be an expert on leadership? You could get training and exposure to the relevant research literature, but it’s not necessary. If you’re persuasive enough, articulate enough, or attractive enough, if you have an interesting enough, uplifting story or some combination of these traits, you are or can be a very successful leadership blogger, speaker, and consultant – whether or not you have ever read let alone contributed to, any of the relevant social science on the topic.” (p. ix)

Reference

Pfeffer, J. (2015). Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time. New York: Harper Business.

“I recommend the buyer beware – of the leadership industry. I do not suggest that there are no great leaders, or that learning to lead is impossible, or that the instruction is an illusion. What I am suggesting is that we look at the industry more critically, improve our assessment of what is being accessed, expand our conception of what constitutes a leadership curriculum, and broaden our understanding of how change is created.

In a perfect world we would develop an overarching leadership theory with an overarching application to leadership practice. But in this imperfect world we have yet completely to understand historical causation, and to entirely explain human motivation. We have yet collaboratively to develop a core leadership curriculum, to objectively, rigorously measure the efficacy of what we do, and to fit leader learning to the twenty-first century.” (pp. 195-196)

Reference

Kellerman, B. (2012).  The end of leadership.  New York: Harper Business.

In her 2012 book, The End of Leadership, Barbara Kellerman focuses most of her attention on taking the leadership industry to task. One of the areas she concentrates her displeasure on is leadership books.  In her estimate, many of the authors base them “… on a few simple assumptions.”  She elaborates on their formulaic nature by stating:

“… that leadership is a skill of some sort, which everyone everywhere should aspire to acquire; that leadership can be learned by all sorts of people, from different backgrounds, and with different experiences and areas of expertise; that notwithstanding the difference between them, leadership can be learned by large numbers of people simultaneously; that leadership can be learned quickly and easily – over a period of months or weeks or even over a weekend; that, in comparison with leaders, followers are less consequential, less valuable a commodity; that context is of secondary or even tertiary consequence; and the leaders control outcomes – which is why, the industry reasons, leaders matter more than does anyone else.” (p. 154)

Reference

Kellerman, B. (2012).  The end of leadership.  New York: Harper Business.