Abstract:
Responsibility has for a long time being given a default spot in the leadership canon meaning it is assumed rather than theoretically or empirically examined. Indeed it would be unlikely to read much about leadership without meeting some reference or association about responsibility but rare to find a sustained exploration of it in its own right. Responsible leadership theory then provides a much needed spotlight onto the concept. This chapter attempts to assess and critique the nature of the responsibly that responsible leadership theory constitutes. I argue that while the theory does broaden ways of understanding 'to whom is leadership responsible' and 'for what is leadership responsible for', it largely fails to answer the question 'who is responsible' beyond a fairly traditional focus on the individual in a designated leader position. Given the contemporary concern in contexts of complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity and in associated relational, shared, and distributed leadership configurations then this chapter turns to alternative philosophical and sociological thinking to understand responsibility in contexts where it is more useful to understand leadership as the property of collectives rather than single individuals. Consequently this chapter advocates thinking in responsibilities rather than responsibility.