Leadership in Relational and Distributed Practice:General and Historical Perspectives

This chapter presents elements of the historical basis for the recently intensified discussion of relational leadership. This is done based on a categorisation of leadership into three major types: classical, modern and relational. The significance of these three types and their ways of interacting will become clarified through a discussion of ‘distributed leadership’, with special reference to organisations where new knowledge is developed and applied. There is a special focus on contradictions and conflicts that may emerge when divergent principles of leadership interact. This chapter presents elements of the historical basis for the recently intensified discussion of relational leadership. This is done based on a categorisation of leadership into three major types: classical, modern and relational. The significance of these three types and their ways of interacting will become clarified through a discussion of ‘distributed leadership’, with special reference to organisations where new knowledge is developed and applied. There is a special focus on contradictions and conflicts that may emerge when divergent principles of leadership interact.