emerald PUBLISHING Rewriting Leadership with Narrative Intelligence: How Leaders Can Thrive in Complex, Confusing and Contradictory Times

Leadership is a slippery concept. Researchers disagree on its essence, describing it variously as behaviours, character traits or styles. Effective leaders understand that we make meaning of our experiences by creating stories we believe to be true, but which are largely based on fragmentary evidence filtered through our biases, beliefs and dispositions.  <div> </div> <div> Rewriting Leadership with Narrative Intelligence draws on a range of disciplines and scholarly traditions to build a compelling case for a new perspective on leadership, seeing it as a deeply embodied, intuitive skill of curating shared narratives, in influence relationships. </div> <div> </div> <div>Defining narrative intelligence as 'our ability to evaluate the efficacy of the stories we create to serve our needs, our capacity to rewrite them, and the practical skill to take effective action', this book methodically outlines how leaders cultivate their own narrative intelligence to: Become the person they seek to be by aligning narratives and core values with actions  Navigate through the challenging leadership space of populism and the erosion of traditional values Ethically curate the narrative others hold of them  Strengthen self-efficacy, take more effective actions, and avoid stories which inadvertently undermine goals  Communicate with trust and influence  Build energy and alignment within teams by generating shared narratives  Cultivate a culture of narrative intelligence  </div> <div>This book will prepare leaders to reshape their own and others' stories to be more aligned with achieving goals and wellbeing. It will prove a useful resource to undergraduates and post-graduates in courses on leadership and management, as well as organizational development consultants and senior executives.</div> Review ‘Many people live in a fixed narrative. Few people see themselves as the creators of their own culture. Leaders are rare people who learn to create genuine, shared narratives. In such networks people flourish and expectations are exceeded. This is a landmark book that explains how to do what many people cannot imagine doing.’ -- Professor Robert E. Quinn, Center for Positive Organizations, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; Author of The Economics of Higher Purpose ‘This is a book of sweeping scope. Morgan artfully synthesizes research and practice with a blend of compelling examples and stories. These provide the depth and breadth to provoke leadership self-reflection. For anyone interested in fresh approaches to leadership, this is a powerful resource.' -- Dr John Edwards, Researcher and Co-author of Schools That Deliver; International Co-ordinator: schools-that-deliver.com ‘Comprehensive, insightful and thought-provoking; Rewriting Leadership with Narrative Intelligence offers both leaders and leadership scholars a truly innovative way of approaching the work of leadership. Enhanced by apt reflective prompts as well as activities to try, this book provides a welcome antidote to tired recipes for leadership which ignore its co-created, contextually sensitive nature.’ -- Professor Donna Ladkin, Graduate School of Leadership and Change, Antioch University; Author of Mastering the Ethical Dimension of Organizations: A Self-Reflective Guide to Developing Ethical Astuteness, and Rethinking Leadership: A New Look at Old Leadership Questions 'Dr Morgan’s book is a ray of bright hope that opens the window on the mindset of leaders and the power of narratives to shape leadership, and in turn to shape followership. This book is a must-read for all involved in the study and practice of leadership.’ -- Rob Elkington, PhD, Adjunct Professor, University of Ontario Institute of Technology; Co-Author of Visionary Leadership in a Turbulent World: Thriving in the New VUCA Context and Exceptional Leadership by Design: How Design in Great Organizations Produces Great Leadership 'Dr Greg Morgan has written at o