This book seeks to answer the question of ‘leadership for what?’. We shall outline an answer by focusing on responsible leadership of purpose through an inter-disciplinary perspective. Responsible leadership moves the axis of leadership from leader-followers to leader-stakeholders; away from looking at leadership as person-centric – the qualities, abilities, and effectiveness of the leader, to a focus on the purposes, responsibilities and activities of leadership. Leadership orientation is about realising value for a range of constituencies, not just the shareholders of the business. In this way this book offers up an alternative business model to that of dominant neo-liberal approaches to capitalism and its flow-on effect to the leadership project. This is a model that draws on a most obvious assumption – if leaders maximise the use of all the capitals of their business they will maximise their dividends, and thus deliver their responsibility to the shareholders as well as other relevant stakeholders.
This book explores how five dividends (based on five capitals) can be developed through attention to a sixth dividend (and sixth capital) – the dividend from our planet and communities. The planetary dividend is the flourishing of humanity – but it is also a significant dividend to the business. For example, by engaging the business in a purpose-led orientation to enhance the planetary dividend, the dividend from human resourcefulness becomes manifest – employee sense of purpose, commitment, passion and energy. The realisation of such can also connect with dividends from innovation, operations and brands. For example, the business benefits from a purpose-driven brand.
In short, responsible leadership of purpose outlines a case for leadership to focus on a connected portfolio of ‘good’ dividends as an answer to the question ‘leadership for what?’ The book is written by academics and organisational leaders. It draws on a range of research with leaders from a variety of contexts to illustrate the challenges but also the benefits of this argument. It is an ambitious book: ambitious, in terms of moving leadership towards realising purpose; ambitious by seeking to align a range of business disciplines around responsible leadership; and ambitious because it challenges the dominant assumptions that shape business leadership. However, it is based on a simple question: why would a business not wish to generate good dividends for all its stakeholders?
Table of Contents:
PART I
1 Leadership of Purpose: In Search of Good Dividends
Steve Kempster, Ken Parry and Thomas Maak
2 Four Cornerstones that Underpin the Good Dividends
Steve Kempster, Thomas Maak and Ken Parry
3 Responsible Leadership: Reconciling People, Purpose, and Profit
Thomas Maak and Nicola M. Pless
4 The Good Dividends: A Systemic Framework of Value Creation
Steve Kempster, Thomas Maak and Ken Parry
PART 2
5 In Search of the Financial Dividend of the Workforce: Evidence from FTSE-100 Companies’ Annual Report Disclosures
Steve Young, Sam Rawsthorne and Luke Hildyard
6 From Human Resources to Human Resourcefulness: Making the Most of Human Good Dividend
Robyn Remke and Steve Kempster
7 Social Innovation Dividend: Leading Stakeholders in Value Creation for All Our Futures
Steve Kempster and Minna Halme
8 Operational Dividend: Realising Stakeholder Value
Steve Eldridge and Steve Kempster
9 Achieving Good Dividends Through Brand Leadership
Malcolm Kirkup and Katalin Illes
10 One-Planet Dividend: Responsible Leadership as Stewardship
Thomas Maak and Nicola M. Pless
11 Leadership of Value: Leading the Leading Indicators for Good Dividends
Anthony Hesketh
Part Three
12 The Good Dividends and Governance: A Leadership Perspective
Randall Zindler
13 Applying the Good Dividends to a Business: A CEO’s Reflections
Luke Freeman, Steve Kempster and Stewart Barnes
14 Final Thoughts: Building the Evidence Base Through A Research and Learning Community
Steve Kempster and Thomas Maak
About the Author :
Steve Kempster is Professor of Leadership Learning and Development at Lancaster University Management School, UK.
Thomas Maak is Professor of Leadership and Director of the Centre for Workplace Leadership at the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Ken Parry was Professor of Leadership Studies at Deakin Business School, in Melbourne, Australia.
