Leadership is a hot topic in political, business, and social circles, because a leader can make or break a country, a company, or a social movement. While analyzing leadership, a great majority of scholars and analysts focus on cases of positive examples of leadership. However, a new book Failed Leadership, edited by Krzysztof Kasianiuk, Assistant Professor from Collegium Civitas, Bohdan Szklarski, Associate Professor from the University of Warsaw, and Piotr Olaf Żylicz, lecturer at SWPS University, brings a new angle to the study of leadership as it analyzes cases of the proverbial Waterloos – cases of failed leadership.
Different Aspects of Failed Leadership
Manifestations and causes of failed leadership have attracted little systematic scientific reflection. This collection of articles, resulting from a 2019 international interdisciplinary conference hosted by SWPS University, brings readers' attention to various aspects of "failed leadership", including business, political, social, philosophical, psychological and historical perspectives. Several topics are presented by an international group of authors, ranging from academicians to business practitioners. The reader will find both advanced theoretical analyses as well as descriptions of real-life cases of failed leadership, across time and different geographies.
In the book, five academics from SWPS University discuss various aspects of failed leadership. Marcin Jacoby, sinologist, Associate Porfessor and Head of the Department of Asian Studies, turns to history to provide an example of “Failed Political Leadership in Ancient China: Lu Buwei and the First Emperor of Qin”. Andrzej Kondratowicz, economist and Associate Professor at the Department of Management at SWPS University discusses “Applicability of Leadership Concept in Economics”. Marta Żerkowska-Balas, a sociologist, political scientist, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Management, focuses on political leadership and discusses cases of “Failed Liberal Leadership”. Furthermore, two other academics from SWPS University center on business leadership. Małgorzata Łużniak-Piecha, a psychologist and Assistnat Professor at the Department of Management, together with Agnieszka Lenton, an occupational psychologist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council in the UK, delve into cases of “Faked Leadership: Psychopathic and Dramatic Leadership Styles”. Finally, Włodzimierz Świątek, a psychologist, facilitator, training consultant, coach, and lecturer at the Department of Management at SWPS University, presents “The Dark Side of Leadership: Why Do Leaders Fail?”.
The book was published by Peter Lang in the series Management in Digital Times, under the auspieces of SWPS University.
About Editors
Krzysztof Kasianiuk is Assistant Professor at Collegium Civitas (Warsaw, Poland). His research is focused on leadership, system-environment dualism and scientific methodology. He is the Head of HIVE - Systems Collective Design Lab, a research centre on complex systems modeling.
Bohdan Szklarski is Associate Professor of Political Science, Graduate of the English Institute, University of Warsaw (Warsaw, Poland) and the Department of Political Science, Northeastern University (Boston, USA). He served as Director of the American Studies Center, University of Warsaw (2012-2016).
Piotr Olaf Żylicz is a former Associate Professor in psychology and Director of the International Center for Research on Leadership at SWPS University (Warsaw, Poland). His international teaching and research cover leadership, business ethics, moral conduct, and coaching. He has 20 years of experience in consulting and executive coaching.