The Nature of Leadership

"This is the definitive higher-level textbook on leadership and leaders written by key scholars. It provides a broad collection of engaging texts for both students and researchers."

-- Oliver Mallett

"This book provides a rich kaleidoscope of the field of leadership in all its complexity. It is the one must-have leadership book for students with an interest in leadership and in leadership research." 

-- Jeanette Lemmergaard

"A valuable text that draws together a comprehensive range of approaches to leadership theory."

-- Ness McHugh

"This textbook while an excellent survey of leadership, also introduced new elements that are not addressed in other texts.  It is a superb addition to the body of knowledge related to leadership and I will be adopting it for my leadership classes."

-- Charles B. Daniels, Ph.D., PEM, PMP

"It covers significant aspects of leadership thought and is a very good text for graduate leadership students." 

-- Theodore Brown Sr.
Curated by two prominent leadership experts of our time, David Day on leadership development and John Antonakis on leader charisma, this handbook is a gold mine for students of leadership. Whether coming to the topic for the first time or going back to review various specific areas, readers are sure to find value. This handbook pulls together the top authors in the field writing on their explicit specialties in chapters that combine both research findings and practical cases. The chapters provide an easy way to catch up on the research in that area and to see its practical import. -- Susan Ashford
In this volume two of the world’s pre-eminent leadership scholars have assembled a stellar cast of researchers to explore the broad range of perspectives that inform contemporary understanding of this immensely important topic. The result is a volume that explores the rich landscape of leadership with unrivalled breadth and penetrating depth. This will be an outstanding resource for readers of any
disciplinary and professional background who want to journey to the heart of this fascinating field and to have to have a 360-degree appreciation of what it is all about. -- S. Alexander Haslam
Many leadership books are written up in a rather scholastic and dry way as an exhaustive review of the literature. The Third Edition of The Nature of Leadership is different. Providing both conceptual and empirical findings written by leading scholars in the field, as well as mini case studies, practical examples and TED-style talks, this book gives students the opportunity to gain valuable and up-to-date academic knowledge and insights on leadership, while making students discover a passion for leadership. -- Ronit Kark
Antonakis and Day join forces once again to shepherd a stellar group of scholars in crafting a comprehensive guidebook for the student of leadership. The Nature of Leadership first educates the reader about major leadership paradigms—groundwork for then exploring current leadership issues. The result is a rich and authoritative examination of what leadership is, how it happens, and why it matters. -- Cindy McCauley
Antonakis and Day create another outstanding volume of their comprehensive leadership textbook, The Nature of Leadership. In addition to providing updated classic content that forms the basis of our current understanding of leadership study and practice, the volume addresses topics important for today and tomorrow’s leaders in diverse organizations to promote innovation and purpose. The book covers crucial issues such as shared leadership, corporate social responsibility, and relational leadership between diverse leaders and followers. Readers will find both the extensive scientific evidence and practical examples important in understanding what leaders need to "do," how leaders develop the skills and abilities to "do what they must do", and also for identifying ways to assess the effectiveness of that "doing." This third edition covers all the bases! -- Susan E. Murphy
The Nature of Leadership by Antonakis and Day provides a comprehensive review of important substantive, philosophical, and methodological issues in the field of leadership. It is a must read for every serious student of leadership. -- Philip Podsakoff
The Nature of Leadership has managed to improve substantially on the highly successful first and second editions. Besides updating the coverage, the editors and contributors have added new features to make the product far more useful as either textbook or handbook. I know of no book better suited for its target audience—those who seek an accessible and complete introduction to what we know about leadership. -- Dean K. Simonton
This is a great book for anyone who wants to understand the nature of leadership! It provides an excellent overview of the fascinating field’s primary theories and topics, and reveals the new and upcoming issues and questions. The inclusion of concrete study materials (e.g., cases, suggestions for further reading, discussion topics, and links to videos) also make this an ideal textbook for students. -- Barbara Wisse
The Nature of Leadership edited by John Antonakis and David Day, is both unique and a tour de force. Unique, because no other book wonderfully serves three distinct audiences as a leadership textbook for undergraduate and master’s students, a compendium of leadership research for doctoral students, and a state-of-the-science review on leadership for the novice and veteran researcher. Tour de force, because
the topics covered—everything of importance in leadership—and the authors included—a who’s who of established and rising leadership scholars—make this book a must-have for your bookshelf/e-files and courses. Enjoy! -- Francis J. Yamma