Debating Leaderless Management: Can Employees Do Without Leaders?

An essential part of the last 50 years of management research claims that leaders pay a significant contribution to the activities (production) in both public and private or-ganizations. The common assumption seems to be that leaders are essential for getting the work done in the organization. The substantial amount of resources allocated for leader wages, seminars, education, and on-the-job training is a consequence of the valuation of leaders. However, some employees claim that leaders create confusion, paradoxes, general disturbance, and some employees even argue that they get work done despite the leaders. Some employees even claim that organizations can have a tendency to create Teflon managers less occupied with the production and the em-ployees and more occupied with their own reputation. Others argue that reducing the substantial amount of money spent on leaders would enable the development of hu-man resources, production facilities, decrease pollution, etc.
This book reviews critically the assumption that leaders are essential and will dis-cuss alternative models of organizing based on community based and collective re-sponsibility as well as the potential role of democratic spaces of control in organiza-tions. The book contains theoretical and empirical contributions to critical analysis of leadership as well as alternative models of organizing. We address and focus on the value of management, experimental management, management paradoxes (managing despite management), collaborative and cooperative management, etc.