Heroic Leadership

Heroic Leadership is a celebration of our greatest heroes, from well-known legends to the legions of unsung heroes who transform our world quietly behind the scenes. Now in its second edition, this book offers a compelling conceptual framework for understanding heroism and heroic leadership, drawing from theories of great leadership and heroic action.

With over 50 revised heroic leader profiles, and 30 new profiles of individuals that have transformed the world, the book explores the many counterintuitive ways that heroes lead, shape, and mobilize their followers. The authors offer a definition of heroic leadership that explains how people easily misconstrue both leadership and heroism, and provide an innovative take on why people are drawn to heroic leaders, and why this can be considered a “fatal attraction”. Incorporating the latest theory and research, the authors unpack the following ten categories of heroism: trending heroes, transitory heroes, transparent heroes, transitional heroes, tragic heroes, transposed heroes, transitional heroes, traditional heroes, transforming heroes, and transcendent heroes. From within these categories, the authors identify 100 exceptional individuals, describing their lives and how they exemplify the characteristics of the category they have been assigned.

Suggesting that our most cherished heroes make for our most transforming leaders, this is a vital resource for students and scholars of leadership studies, organizational behaviour and social psychology. Presenting valuable insights into the lives of both historical and modern leaders, the book is also a fascinating read for casual readers.