Leadership in Extreme Situations

This book covers various aspects of leadership in critical situations and under extreme conditions. Today’s leaders often face challenging situations or unexpected difficulties, and mastering these requires a wide spectrum of competencies such as creativity, courage and empathy. Therefore, this book provides an interdisciplinary approach including both theoretical concepts and practical findings relevant to optimizing leadership in extreme situations. Issues such as why people act as they do in stressful and extreme situations, or what constitutes the nexus between leadership/followership, organizations, and culture etc., are addressed. Leadership under extreme conditions is a very complex topic and one that has been approached from a variety of perspectives. The contributions to this volume thus originate from various academic disciplines including political science, social sciences, psychology, and philosophy. Insights from the study of in extremis leadership can help researchers and practitioners understand the individual, team and contextual factors that influence leadership and, ultimately, organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Leadership in Extreme Situations is a collection of contributions by selected scholars and field experts. It addresses key issues of leadership, morale and cohesion, as well as ethical questions; provides an ideal entry into the complex world of advanced leadership; and serves as a practical guide for the successful implementation of modern leadership.