This book takes an in-depth look at an emerging approach to the creation of business leaders.Traditionally, management theories have taken a psychological approach to leadership, assuming that it is located within or an attribute of individuals. In contrast, the discursive approach to leadership, assumes that leadership is created through communication practices - practices that are contingent on the negotiation that then occurs between leader and followers. This book is for a broad audience, including students and professors in business schools and practicing business executives. It informs current and future leaders on how to more effectively approach leadership as a communication practice that involves and depends upon the response of potential followers. This is particularly important in a business environment that involves diverse participants with differing expectations and values related to the practice of leadership.

Author Biography

Robyn Walker is an Associate Professor of Clinical Management Communication at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. She holds a Ph.D in Communication from the University of Utah, is editor of the Journal of Business Communication and the textbook BCOM (Cengage) and is author of Strategic Business Communication for Leaders (Cengage). Jolanta Aritz is also an Associate Professor of Clinical Management Communication at the USC Marshall School of Business. She holds a Ph.D in Linguistics from the University of Southern California. Aritz has been published in numerous journals, and has a research grant from the USC Advancing Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences Initiative and the C.R. Anderson Research Fund for innovative research in the field of Business Communication.