The Dark Side of Transformational Leadership

"Never before have I provided an endorsement with such genuine enthusiasm. The Dark Side of Transformational Leadership is a singularly strong contribution to leadership theory and practice: iconoclastic on the one hand, and deeply researched and carefully constructed on the other. Tourish challenges our conventional wisdoms; he takes on our usual icons; and he lays bare our collective deficiencies. But he does not end there.To the contrary. Tourish provides whole new way of looking at leadership and followership, leading us wisely and well to where we belong, to the second decade of the 21st century." - Barbara Kellerman, James MacGregor Burns Lecturer in Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School, USA

"I fully anticipate that this important book will mark a critical and overdue turning point for the field of leadership studies. The author writes with a compelling mix of absolute conviction, refreshing clarity and expert authority. I will be strongly recommending it to both scholars and senior executives."- Brad Jackson, Fletcher Building Education Trust Chair in Leadership, University of Auckland Business School, Australia

"At last, an erudite and critical analysis of Transformational Leadership that explores the dark side and pulls back the self-imposed curtains that are so frequently an element of this approach. This is an uncomfortable but very important 'must-read' for all students of leadership."- Keith Grint, Warwick Business School, Warwick University, UK

"Much of the book is a near tour-de-force that highlights Tourish's broad and deep command of the TL literature, which he leverages to creatively and imaginatively apply his ideas and those of others to critically illuminate a variety of leadership issues and situations in a manner that mainstream works have no heretofore been able to do." - Stephen Jaros, Management Learning (Vol. 44 No. 5)

"This book is a very welcome addition to the still small, but now rapidly growing literature which offers substantive and detailed challenges to the grandiose and heroic notions of leadership which have been so heavily promoted over last few decades…Tourish’s method of drawing on empirical studies as the main basis for his critique renders this work highly accessible to both practitioner and student audiences who might otherwise find more theoretically oriented critical work too far outside their normal frame of reference. The body of evidence he offers in support of his claims is persuasive and will likely challenge those who have only been exposed to more conventional accounts of leadership to seriously reconsider their position." -Dr Suze Wilson, School of Management, Massey University, New Zealand, in Organization, 2015, Vol. 22(1)

"Never before have I provided an endorsement with such genuine enthusiasm. The Dark Side of Transformational Leadership is a singularly strong contribution to leadership theory and practice: iconoclastic on the one hand, and deeply researched and carefully constructed on the other. Tourish challenges our conventional wisdoms; he takes on our usual icons; and he lays bare our collective deficiencies. But he does not end there.To the contrary. Tourish provides whole new way of looking at leadership and followership, leading us wisely and well to where we belong, to the second decade of the 21st century."- Barbara Kellerman, James MacGregor Burns Lecturer in Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School, USA

"I fully anticipate that this important book will mark a critical and overdue turning point for the field of leadership studies. The author writes with a compelling mix of absolute conviction, refreshing clarity and expert authority. I will be strongly recommending it to both scholars and senior executives."- Brad Jackson, Fletcher Building Education Trust Chair in Leadership, University of Auckland Business School, Australia

"At last, an erudite and critical analysis of Transformational Leadership that explores the dark side and pulls back the self-imposed curtains that are so frequently an element of this approach. This is an uncomfortable but very important 'must-read' for all students of leadership."- Keith Grint, Warwick Business School, Warwick University, UK

"Much of the book is a near tour-de-force that highlights Tourish's broad and deep command of the TL literature, which he leverages to creatively and imaginatively apply his ideas and those of others to critically illuminate a variety of leadership issues and situations in a manner that mainstream works have no heretofore been able to do." - Stephen Jaros, Management Learning (Vol. 44 No. 5)

"This interesting and pertinent book should resonate with those involved in the dynamics of Action Learning" - Dr Michael Walton, Action Learning: Research and Practice

"Extending upon previous articles he has written, Tourish writes in a style that invokes interest and a desire to know more. He clearly has a depth of knowledge and has undertaken qualitative analysis of interview scripts examining the spoken themes of some of the bankers involved in the banking crisis. It is extremely readable and creates a spotlight upon the dangers of having unregulated power and the negative impact this has on employees, organisations and society." -Elizabeth Carter, The Psychologist