Abstract:
In this thesis I take a philosophical approach to leadership studies to chart new paths in the field that productively address critical philosophical and political issues related to sexual difference, power, and subjectivity. The prevalence of dualisms in leadership theory, which are dependent on an image of the human as a static and unitary subject modelled on Western philosophy’s universal ‘Man,’ have served to reproduce power asymmetries in organisations and societies with significant detrimental effects for women and other minority subjects. While the recent ‘relational turn’ in leadership studies has marked a shift away from individualist ontologies, relational and practice-based conceptions struggle to account for the role of the gendered leadership imaginary in leadership practice. Furthermore, little consideration has been given to how we might study gender and leadership in ways that move beyond critique without returning to essentialising definitions of ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’ and ‘leaders’ and ‘followers.’
To address these elisions and develop workable alternatives, this thesis draws on a ‘thinking-as-research’ approach to inquiry inspired by the feminist philosopher Rosi Braidotti. I argue that new materialism, as a philosophical framework and a political stand premised on a monistic rather than dualistic view of the world, is vital to reimagining leadership studies on emancipatory terms that exceed the boundaries imposed by humanist schemas of thought. This radically different stance, which I approach from a distinct feminist orientation, enables the development of new conceptions, frameworks and tools for leadership theory, practice, and research, with a major contribution being the conception of leadership as an assemblage. These developments are contingent on my engagement with new materialist concepts, namely assemblage, cartography, figurations, transposition, and potentia. The feminist speculative fiction genre comprises a crucial element of my engagement with the concepts. Selected speculative texts function as a vital resource for reworking foundational ideas and producing new knowledge in the leadership field. In engaging with philosophy and fiction, this thesis ultimately aims to create alternative registers for thinking and different ways of approaching leadership through engagement with cutting-edge feminist, new materialist, and literary-inspired perspectives.