French Literature Reviews - 2026
D. Knights. Leadership, Gender and Ethics. Embodied Reason in Challenging Masculinities
History, Politics and Society
Leadership, Gender and Ethics
Embodied Reason in Challenging Masculinities
David Knights
ISBN 9781138492509
290 Pages
£120.00
Routledge
OVERVIEW
This book offers a distinctive approach to the study of leadership aimed at transforming its practice. Its uniqueness lies in its focus on contemporary issues of gender and ethics. Specifically, it examines the masculine nature of leadership and how it can be challenged or disrupted through embodied reasoning. A central argument of the book is that masculine-coded leadership elevates disembodied rationality in ways that marginalize the body and emotions, frequently resulting in the sanctioning of unethical behavior.
In exploring this premise, Leadership, Gender and Ethics: Embodied Reason in Challenging Masculinities provides a thorough analysis of often-overlooked dimensions surrounding the concept and practice of leadership, namely identity and anxiety, power and resistance, diversity and gender, and the body and masculinities. The book's arguments are further illustrated through empirical examinations of academic life, organizational change and innovation, and the 2008 global financial crisis. A postscript also analyzes instances of masculine leadership during the 2020 global pandemic.
This book will appeal broadly to researchers, scholars, and students in the fields of leadership and management, and will be of particular interest to those exploring the intersections of leadership, gender, ethics, and embodied approaches. It will likewise resonate with readers seeking to develop novel frameworks for theorizing leadership through the lens of identity and insecurity, power and masculinity, and ethics and the body. Its insights hold the potential to transform not only the study of leadership, but its practice as well.
The study of leadership has increasingly shifted from traditional models of command toward nuanced investigations of identity, power, and ethics. Within management studies, the critique of masculine-coded norms often highlights how an emphasis on disembodied rationality can marginalize emotional intelligence and physical presence. Readers interested in the intersection of gender studies and organizational theory may find these discussions of identity and anxiety particularly relevant to their own research.
This volume examines the masculine nature of leadership and how it can be challenged through embodied reasoning. It addresses the role of the body and the influence of masculine norms on institutional ethics, utilizing empirical examinations of academic life, organizational change, the 2008 global financial crisis, and the 2020 global pandemic. The text explores how power dynamics and gendered expectations shape professional behavior, contributing to ongoing debates regarding the ethical responsibilities inherent in contemporary leadership roles.