Management Education and Leadership

Abstract

Abstract Interest in leadership development has grown substantially over the past decade. Organizations increasingly see leadership capability as a source of competitive advantage. However, the UK evidence on the state of the current management and leadership capability (and its relation to performance) reported by the Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership (CEML) suggests that there is much dissatisfaction from managers, at all levels, with the quality of leadership within their organization. There is also agreement that professional associations should incorporate leadership development as a vital part of their pre-qualification and CPD programmes (Fox et al., 2001). In the light of these findings, it is not surprising that leadership development and leadership studies have become big business for management educators in the UK. In this section of the book, we reflect on the changing nature of management education within business schools and highlight the importance of effective partnerships in leadership development. We will cover the main criticisms of management education and the two major reform movements which have addressed these, which set the scene for the recent renaissance in leadership development. We will conclude by discussing what leadership development shares with the reform movements