Leaderly acts and practices from unexpected places are often overlooked and yet have remarkable
power. These spontaneous acts are in sharp contrast to those of formal leaders in governments
and leading corporations. Global events like the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis light
up these differences. This book delves deeper exploring these leaderly acts and practices more
fully and beyond extraordinary events. The authors describe these as unleadership a term
defined in this book as a set of acts and practices that are undertaken in a spirit of
spontaneity and generosity for social good. Four dimensions of unleadership are identified in
this book: paying it forward living with the unknown catching the wave and confident
connecting and collaborating. Unleadership exposes the potential that is unleashed when members
of the community discover their own power to act and reclaim what they have delegated to their
leaders. Based on extensive research the authors highlight the flourishing of alternative
forms of leading that encourage rethinking ideas of leadership and followership. They provide
practical guidance to organisations and practitioners for enriching their leaderly capacity and
cultivating unleadership practices to co-exist with and complement leadership practices.
Unleadership is an invaluable resource for leaders and managers in public and private
organisations as well students of leadership and organisational development.
