TY - JOUR

T1 - Prozac Leadership and the Limits of Positive Thinking

AU - Collinson, David Leonard

N1 - ‘Prozac Leadership and the Limits of Positive Thinking’ was republished in a virtual Special issue of Leadership, entitled: ‘Rethinking Leadership Research’. Edited by the Editor of the journal, this Special issue in 2016 comprised 7 peer reviewed articles selected to showcase "the excellent scholarship" that has been published in the journal over the previous 10 years. Please see: http://journals.sagepub.com/page/lea/collections/rethinking-leadership-research/index

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - This article critically examines excessive positivity in leadership dynamics. It argues that the tendency for leader positivity to become excessive is a recurrent but under-researched medium through which power and identity can be enacted in leadership dynamics. Drawing on the metaphor of ‘Prozac’, it suggests that leaders’ excessive positivity is often characterized by areluctance to consider alternative voices, which can leave organizations and societies ill-prepared to deal with unexpected events. Prozac leadership encourages leaders to believe their own narratives that everything is going well and discourages followers from raising problems or admittingmistakes. The article also argues that followers (broadly defined) are often quick to identify leaders’ excessive positivity and are likely to respond through various forms of resistance. It concludes by considering the extent to which excessive positivity also characterizes leadership studies, and raises additional questions for further critical analyses of Prozac leadership.

AB - This article critically examines excessive positivity in leadership dynamics. It argues that the tendency for leader positivity to become excessive is a recurrent but under-researched medium through which power and identity can be enacted in leadership dynamics. Drawing on the metaphor of ‘Prozac’, it suggests that leaders’ excessive positivity is often characterized by areluctance to consider alternative voices, which can leave organizations and societies ill-prepared to deal with unexpected events. Prozac leadership encourages leaders to believe their own narratives that everything is going well and discourages followers from raising problems or admittingmistakes. The article also argues that followers (broadly defined) are often quick to identify leaders’ excessive positivity and are likely to respond through various forms of resistance. It concludes by considering the extent to which excessive positivity also characterizes leadership studies, and raises additional questions for further critical analyses of Prozac leadership.

KW - excessive positivity

KW - Prozac leadership

KW - critical leadership studies

KW - power

KW - identity

KW - resistance

M3 - Special issue

JO - Leadership

JF - Leadership

SN - 1742-7150

ER -