Would it be possible, even desirable, to turn something that today isn’t even regarded as an occupation, but probably is best described as a role or function, into a true profession? In this academic book of debate, authors from various parts of the world present their differing arguments as to whether or not leadership is, can become and should become a true profession. Another, connected question debated in the book is whether or not it is a good idea to offer bachelor programs in leadership, in contrast to the much more common bachelor programs in management and/or business.
As could be expected from a book of debate, a broad variety of positions are reflected in the set of chapters. This is at least true when it comes to the main debate of the book, circulating around leadership as a profession—that is, the debate on whether or not leadership is already a profession, and whether or not leadership can and/or should be turned into a true profession. This stands in contrast to most of the previous works connected to this debate, which tend to contain fewer standpoints. This book is far more nuanced. Some authors argue that leadership should be turned into a true profession, while others argue against this. In some of the chapters, the main argument is that leadership cannot be turned into a true profession, while other authors argue that leadership could already be regarded as a profession. A few chapters are positioned between these opposites.
However, the other debate, whether it is reasonable for higher education institutions (HEIs) to offer bachelor programs in leadership, is reflected in this book in a more one-sided way. It has been quite difficult to find scholars willing to contribute with argumentations against the occurrence of such bachelor programs (even if critics do exist), something that could be explained by the relative newness of this debate—as well as of the phenomenon of offering bachelor programs in leadership per se.
As also could be expected from a book of debate, there is no unified conclusion in terms of a single position for or against the professionalization of leadership. In contrast, the very purpose of the book is to provide the reader with a diversity of arguments and counter-arguments. Each chapter is to be regarded as a stand-alone argument in one of the debates.
This introductory chapter gives a background to the two main debates, and is divided into three sections. In the first section, a brief background to the main debate on leadership and management as professions is offered, and the three sub-debates (“is”, “can”, and “should”) are presented. In this section, reasons for prioritizing the term “leadership” in this book rather than the term “management” are also discussed, and a brief review of some literature that previously has debated management as a profession is offered. In the second section, the debate on whether it can be assumed to be a good idea for HEIs to offer bachelor programs in leadership is introduced. In the third section, the chapters in the book are introduced and briefly presented.
The Debate on Leadership/Management as a Profession
The debate on leadership/management as a true profession has been going on for some time. If not continuously, then it could at least be said to have popped up now and then. A relatively recent example of a publication that probably has triggered the debate is Rajesh Khurana’s book From Higher Aims to Hired Hands: The Social Transformation of American Business Schools and the Unfulfilled Promise of Management as a Profession (Khurana 2007).
In most previous works, management as a true profession has been debated. However, the main term being used in this book is leadership. One reason for this is that some of the arguments put forward against turning management into a true profession may be eliminated when focusing on leadership instead. For instance, it may be somewhat easier to find a common knowledge-base for leadership than it is for management. Also, there is reason to explore if leadership, which perhaps is less thought of as an occupation than management, could really be turned into a profession. Yet another reason for focusing on leadership instead of management is that leadership could be said to be a broader concept than management, and thus it provides opportunities to include such themes as political leadership into the debate.
Nevertheless, the span of how various authors interpret and apply this terminology is broad, in that they have been given freedom to use any of the concepts. Thus, there are those who make a distinction between the terms and either use the term “management” or the term “leadership”, and those who more or less use the terms as synonyms. Another reason for focusing on leadership instead of management is because it is easier to connect it to the other debate that the book deals with: whether it is reasonable to offer bachelor programs in leadership.
The debate on leadership/management as a profession could actually be said to consist of three sub-debates: whether or not leadership/management already is a true profession, whether or not leadership/management can become a true profession, and whether or not leadership/management should become a true profession. Just as in the literat...