Intellectual Shamans: Management Academics Making a Difference

In traditional cultures, the shaman is the healer, the connector, and the spiritual leader or sensemaker. Today in the management academy, some individuals use their intellectual gifts to perform a similar role - mediating between various disciplines, ideas and theories, as well as making sense of ideas, insights, and research for others. This book, based on the work and lives of 28 very well-known management academics, describes what it means - and what it takes - to be an intellectual shaman. It is a fascinating insight into the career paths and the sometimes maverick behaviour that has allowed these individuals to achieve success. Based on extensive interviews, Intellectual Shamans provides both a roadmap to junior scholars and a critique of the current system of academic career progression.

Table of Contents:
Foreword; 1. The intellectual shaman; 2. The path to intellectual shamanism: becoming fully who you are; 3. Beyond the self: power of purpose; 4. Healer; 5. Connector; 6. Sensemaker; 7. The intellectual shaman; 8. Sage: the work of wisdom; References; Index.

About the Author :
Sandra Waddock is the Galligan Chair of Strategy, Carroll School Scholar of Corporate Responsibility, and Professor of Management at Boston College's Carroll School of Management.

Review :
'New thinking abounds in these times of rapid change. Professor Waddock's analysis sweeps across the landscape of modern management thought as she describes the role and thought of a group of influential thinkers she calls 'intellectual shamans'. The twenty-eight leaders profiled in this book share a richness of worldly experience, formal study and an innate curiosity about the world as it is, and could be. Waddock's interviews with the shamans reveal both their public and their private lives; indeed, many of them insist that there can be no meaningful separation between their public and private identities. Management professionals, educators and students will discover a treasure trove of stimulating ideas in this book. The profiles are quite remarkable, as each 'shaman' shares their personal story and provocative ideas. The result is a book that will inspire each of us to stretch a little further in our own work.' James E. Post, John F. Smith, Jr Professor in Management, Boston University School of Management 'In Intellectual Shamans, as in her previous book The Difference Makers, Sandra Waddock makes a clarion call for scholarship to be more reverential and linked to wisdom. It is depth, insight and quiet reflection that produce wisdom, and this book has all of those attributes and more. Buy it and wonder.' Malcolm McIntosh, Griffith University, Queensland 'Sandra Waddock's new book … will inspire many … Waddock has played a significant role in the development and evolution of what many refer to as corporate social responsibility. And, in this way, is very much the type of intellectual shaman she writes about.' Business and Society Review 'Intellectual Shamans is a useful guide for management scholars aiming to make changes and significant contributions to their fields. With its authentic cases and exemplary career trajectories of well-known management scholars as role models, this book is best suited for doctoral students as well as junior faculty.' Jegoo Lee, Academy of Management Learning and Education