Leadership and Liberation: A Psychological Approach

by Sean Ruth

How do leaders influence the people around them? Is leadership about having particular personality traits or is it about what leaders actually do and the types of relationships they build? This ground-breaking book looks at how to be an effective leader. It presents a model of leadership that has many practical implications for those who occupy formal leadership roles or who seek to influence events informally. This model views leadership as a collaborative, influence process rather than a hierarchical or authoritarian one. By looking at leadership in the context of liberation, it provides the reader with an alternative perspective, enabling them to think about their own aims and effectiveness as a leader. It analyses our understanding of oppressed and oppressor groups and how processes of mistreatment develop and become institutionalised. From this standpoint, effective leadership is presented as a means of confronting inequality and initiating positive change. The practical skills required by leaders to assist them in becoming agents of change and influence, and in dealing with the inevitable conflicts that arise in complex interpersonal situations, are considered. The reasons why leaders are targets of attack are also looked into, as well as the situations in which they can act as a positive force for transformation. Containing an in-depth review of the development of leadership theory, Leadership and Liberation also critically evaluates main-stream approaches and analyses the implications for leaders on the ground. The lessons to be learned are applicable to leaders in all types of groups and organisations and will be of interest to those studying psychology, business and management.

312 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2006

Reviews

[Paula Fyans]

The most insightful book I have ever read on Leadership; it should be mandatory reading for anyone in a position of power, no matter how small he/she thinks that power is. So many people who write about leadership confuse it with management or views leadership as a set of traits you are born with. This brilliant book shows us how leadership is really all about thinking well on behalf of a group, and how in the best groups, all members behave in that way. It also makes you realise that everyone has the potential to lead, if they can learn to understand the needs and dynamics of the situation they find themselves in. The second part of the book moves on to oppression, which at first you may not think is linked to leadership but skilfully explains how all of us are involved in oppression in some way, whether as part of an oppressed group or the group doing the oppressing. Identifying and understanding this is critical to freeing ourselves from that oppressive dynamic. And Dr Ruth is a world leader on this topic.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way this book changed my whole existence. It look such a long time to understand the effects of internalised oppression and to undergo the process of liberation. Aslo, this book really helped me to understand what true leadership entails