Oxford Handbook of Bad Leadership

The Oxford Handbook of Bad Leadership defines bad leadership as unethical or ineffective, or both. Broad in scope, the volume provides an overview of the study of bad leadership and recommendations for future research. Some chapters help establish a mainstream perspective on bad leadership, while others problematize and suggest alternatives to the standard research approach. The Handbook classifies common ways of studying bad leadership as the preparation approach, the personality approach, the follower-centered approach, and the role-expectancy approach. Additionally, the volume proposes the circumstantial approach and the systemic approach. Altogether, this framework helps researchers to develop their studies of bad leadership. The Handbook offers insights into how bad leadership manifests and can be handled in a variety of contexts, such as higher education, Christian organizations, and remote work. The Handbook also critically examines commonly suggested remedies. To prevent and mitigate bad leadership, stakeholders cannot assume that the actors around the leader—such as the leaders' leaders, human resources, and the organization at large—are benign. Providing both an overview of this dynamic research area and a host of nuanced perspectives, this Handbook serves as a key resource especially for readers interested in understanding and studying bad leadership, but also for identifying, addressing, and preventing bad leadership in the future.

Anders Örtenblad is Professor of Working Life Science at University of Agder, Norway. He previously edited the book Debating Bad Leadership: Reasons and Remedies as well The Oxford Handbook of the Learning Organization and The Oxford Handbook of Metaphor in Organization Studies.