Seeking to understand the faith we place in leadership, Metaphors We Lead By draws on a number of in-depth studies of managers trying to "do" leadership. It offers six metaphors for the leader which provide unexpected insights into how leadership does and does not work.

1. Introduction 2. Theories of Leadership 3. Metaphors for Leadership 4. Leaders as Saints: Leadership through Moral Peak Performance 5. Leaders as Gardeners: Leadership through Facilitating Growth 6. Leaders as Buddies: Leadership through Making People Feel Good 7. Leaders as Commanders: Leadership through Creating Clear Direction 8. Leaders as Cyborgs: Leadership through Mechanistic Superiority 9. Leaders as Bullies: Leadership through Intimidation 10. Communicating Leadership Metaphors 11. Conclusion

'Rarely is academic writing so insightful, useful and amusing at once.'Gianpiero Petriglieri, INSEAD, France'This insightful work is a valuable contribution to the study of leadership. It is a must for university business collections, and merits inclusion as collateral reading in academic and professional leadership-related courses of study.'J. B. Kashner, CHOICE'A sophisticated and critical analysis of 'leadership' metaphors that pushes the boundaries well beyond the conventional. There are lots of books on leadership but there aren't many books like this - read it!'Keith Grint, Professor of Public Leadership & Management, Warwick Business School, UK'This highly engaging book compellingly shows what a critically-oriented approach can do to not only invigorate the field of leadership studies but also to constructively assist leaders (and followers) make sense of and act authentically in a world in which is leadership is over-hyped yet widely misunderstood.'Professor Brad Jackson, Fletcher Building Education Trust Chair in Leadership, The University of Auckland, New Zealand