Leadership for the Twenty-First Century

by Joseph C. Rost

This illuminating study critiques the concept of leadership as understood in the last 75 years and looks to the twenty-first century for a reconstructed understanding of leadership in the postindustrial era. More similarities in past decades were found than had been thought; the thread throughout Joseph C. Rost's book is that leadership was conceived of as good management. Rost develops a new definition and paradigm for leadership in this volume that distinguishes leadership from management in fundamental ways. The ethics of leadership from a postindustrial perspective completes the paradigm. The book concludes with suggestions that can be immediately utilized in helping to transform our understanding of leadership. Leadership for the Twenty-First Century states that the school of leadership characterized by good management has been in evidence all along, yet not well articulated by its proponents. The critique of leadership literature includes definitions of leadership written in each decade since 1930, which are grouped in patterns of thought and analyzed. A chapter is devoted to the concept of leadership in the 1980s, when an explosion of literature appeared. Those studying public administration, applied business issues, and communications will be interested in this fascinating work.

Genres: Leadership

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 30, 1991

Reviews

[Christy Orcutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains an interesting examination of leadership. I found the concept of the Industrial Paradigm of Leadership to be very fitting. As a fan of Burns' work with transformational leadership, I found my thoughts to be in accordance with much of what Rost says. Very thought provoking book. I would be very interested to hear what Rost has to say about this book now that it's been another 20+ years. How have his thoughts on leadership changed in this era of "supermarket leadership"?

[Robert Bogue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leadership is a tricky word to define. That’s why, in Leadership for the Twenty-First Century, Joseph Rost takes more than two-thirds of the book to try to define it – and probably still doesn’t get it quite right. You might expect that I wouldn’t be a fan of a book that spends so much time on something that most would agree should be relegated to a foreword or, at the very most, an introductory chapter. However, the story is more complicated than that. There’s a lot of wisdom in looking back and realizing how poorly we’ve defined the term and the issues that this has caused.

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[Dawn Bates · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful journey through the subject of leadership, with the often misunderstood distinctions between leadership and management being dissected.

Written in a way that is enjoyable, factual and great for referencing, Rost calls out the delusions many so called leaders have today, and the common misunderstandings of what it takes to be a leader. This may be a book from a couple of decades ago, before the social media concept of self imposed thought leader emerged, but it is still essential reading for those who wish to understand the evolution of leadership.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The essence of leadership has really been an under-discussed topic. Rost was able to bring it out and I may just have a template for leadership training.