Organizational Leadership

1.Project Descriptions

10 Second Sell

A critical, practical, and comprehensive introduction to both traditional and contemporary leadership approaches that presents leadership as a process shaped by internal and external factors.

Rationale to Publish: Strategy

This title is one of our strongest sellers in the Leadership book bag, having achieved just over 1600 print and eBook copies in Y1 of the 2e’s publication (note that the 1e and 2e sold simultaneously), a continuation of promising sales seen in the 1e, which had the misfortune of publishing during the pandemic.

Alongside this, the 1e was accessed 808 times in Catalyst in 2023 and the 2e 155 times in 2024 YTD (12/3/24), demonstrating additional usage of this text at institutions such as: UWE, Sunderland and Leeds Beckett.

Feedback from the 2^ndedition included praise of how it was “perfectly timed as we try to adapt and learn lessons following the pandemic” and a “thorough resource for students of Leadership/ Leadership and Management modules across all Business/Business Management programs of education”.

To further entrench this book’s position on the market, I suggest a traditional revision that keeps it up to date with market needs and hot topics; particularly as the book relies so much on topical, real-world content which would otherwise date quickly.

Importantly, topics such as sustainability, gender, culture, and power - which have featured in both editions - are perennial.

Rationale to Adopt: USPs

1. A tri-dimensional model that examines leadership through the interlocking factors: context, leader, and followers.

2. Coverage of core areas, as well as topical issues (which will be evaluated against current trends and events for the new edition)

3. Critical approach, with learning features such as Critical Insight and Pause and Reflect, which addresses the renewed interest in soft skills development in the business school.

4. Video conversations with real leaders: who share insights into the reality of leadership practice, including a fascinating range of diverse examples. In previous editions this included leading teams on the frontline in Iraq, collective leadership in the NHS and the challenges and opportunities for women in leadership roles (these will be evaluated against current trends and events for the new edition).

5. Interdisciplinary/wider vocational appeal. The book covers public sector leadership in detail, including examples from healthcare and education which makes it suitable for leadership courses outside of the business school.

Pedagogy + Benefits

1. Leadership in Action boxes:Short case studies demonstrate leadership approaches and concepts in practice and introduce you to examples from around the world.
2. Critical Insight boxes:Contemporary debates and examples are analysed through different viewpoints and help you to develop your critical thinking skills.
3. Pause and Reflect boxes:Short activities check your understanding as you progress through each chapter.
4. Chapter Review Questions:End-of-chapter questions test your knowledge and help you to identify areas for revision.
5. Researching Leadership:Longer activities at the end of each chapter develop your research, analytical and problem-solving skills.
6. Ethical Spotlight:An example of an ethical issue relating to the chapter topic is encourages you to reflect on the ethical challenges faced by leaders.
7. Further Reading:Suggested book chapters and journal articles help you to build your bibliography for assignments.
8. Case Study:An extended case study in each chapter provides a deeper insight into how key leadership issues and ideas manifest in practice.

Author Profile

John Bratton is a big name due to the success of his bestselling Palgrave textbooks on HRM and OB. For Sage, he has also recently writtenAI and Work.

He has taught in UK and Canadian business schools for over 30 years and holds a position as Honorary Professor of Management at QUB.

New Edition Changes

Given strong sales, I propose a traditional update of the content to strengthen a structure that is clearly already working well and meeting the needs of instructors and students. John has the following thoughts:

• Look at updating the Prologue and Foreword to bring in content about “post”-pandemic leadership and war and conflict.
• Updates to AI and leadership chapter
• New (additional) chapter on Leading in Extreme Environments (John understands word count will need to come from other chapters to go ahead with this)
• Gary Powell (Sage author on gender & work) to update gender and leadership chapter.
• Chapter 18 updated to Multilevel leadership in Public Sector
• Chapter 19 updated to be about Generative Leadership in Post Industrial Urban contexts.
• Case studies to be reviewed and revised to be as current as possible, and to have good balance between Global North (I think John means UK and US specifically) and international/Global South.

I’d also like to:

• Review the complementary video content – how up to date are these videos and do they serve the need of current instructors and students?
• Minor DEI update: cosmetic updates to language. To be briefed with our new DEI guidelines. SeeChallenge to Addresssection below.

Draft Full Description / OBC

Understand the reality of contemporary organizational leadership with the third edition of this critical, thought-provoking textbook.

Through an analysis of key theories and topical issues such as innovation, gender, power, ethics and environmental sustainability, the authors deftly illustrate how leadership cannot be extricated from the wider organizational context and why leadership is increasingly seen as a shared endeavour between leaders and followers.

New to this edition:

<Populate at transmittal>

This is an essential guide to leadership for undergraduate and postgraduate students.