A series of Socratic dialogues about management and leadership with some of the most thought-provoking global scholars

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how to develop good leadersHIP

A Unique Inquiry Into How To Develop Good Organisations, a Good Economy, and Good Leaders

Our world has become complex and defies simple solutions.  Yet, instead of amplifying our collective wisdom and nurturing our capacity for critical thinking, it appears our commitment to thorough inquiry has gradually waned. Instead of asking more profound questions, more often, we endorse reductionism and convenient pragmatism; prioritizing subjective preferences, scientific dogma, or monetary gains. Instead of being guided by radical care for the humanities, we proclaim that markets and technology are intrinsically ethical and emancipative. Exacerbating our plight, we have siloed our expertise – between society and economy, academia and practice, scientific disciplines, philosophy and business. Paradoxically, we have thus become both the most powerful creatures that ever were, and the most constrained in our ability to reconnect with the essence of who we are, in order to flourish together.

Therein lies great danger. Societal challenges are rapidly growing, demanding urgent and thoughtful responses. If we agree that the power of economic activity must, first and foremost, enable our humanity, then leaders across institutions must step fully into their civic responsibility - beyond any superficial maximisation of profits or customer satisfaction. Businesses and organisations must honour and nurture their impact on human well-being and the natural ecology. Yet, alternative blueprints for and exemplars of good leadership and management are hard to find; and contemporary recipes for societal and organisational transformation are often fragmented, unethical, or not based on the best available evidence. 

Thus, for our own sake, we must abandon the comforts of unsatisfactory certitudes and embark on an inquiry to discover what it really means for modern organisations and modern leaders to become "good". We must abandon Business Schools and the propaganda of many best-selling management textbooks  that perpetuate a reductionist and dysfunctional myth of leadership, socialising an anglo-american ideology of utility maximisation, rather than developing true capacity for wisdom across society. Resurrecting a "philosophical approach" to management and leadership, and rekindling an ancient spirit of contemplative wonder, we shall use transdisciplinary dialectics to bring to life the best of our humanity within the best of our economy.

Admittedly, this will not be for the faint of heart. As Andre' Comte-Sponville, the French philosophy, eloquently stated: philosophy is an arduous task, requiring effort, study, and the use of appropriate tools. To philosophize is to think critically and act responsibly within context, whilst drawing on the wisdom of both past and contemporary thinkers. Likewise, good leadership requires both personal and intellectual development, as well as courage, commitment and compassion to challenge established authority and the status quo. And it needs credible practices to foster organisational transformation and emancipation on a societal scale. Only through the dialogic development of 'ourselves-in-organizations-in-economy-in-society' can we hope to attain a good society for all.

Therefore, we are reaching out to a select group of distinguished minds; researchers and practitioners who share our passion for ethical transformation, and who are willing to impart their wisdom and lessons learned. Our hope is that these dialogues will help to generate a powerful and practical narrative about good organisations, and guide us in becoming the conscious, courageous and caring leaders humanity needs.

Like any voyage into uncharted territory, the initial steps must be intimidating and discouraging for many. But fear not! Once you have mastered the sometimes arcane and esoteric vocabulary of philosophy, the rewards can be profoundWe hope you will find as much joy and insights in these discussions as we have, and wish you the very best on your personal odyssey of learning.


Leaders for Humanity interviews

THREE NOT SO SIMPLE QUESTIONS

In our interview series we invite global thought leaders to explore three apparently simple questions: 

  • What is 'good'?
  • How to craft 'good organisations'?
  • How can we become 'good', individually and collectively?

Each session approaches the inquiry from multiple and transdisciplinary perspectives: e.g., a) philosophical or political perspective; b) a macro-economic perspective; c) a management and organisational perspective; or d) a personal development or educational view. Each view examines a specific layer of social reality, whilst seeking to explore the wider system.

Of course, our queries reveal themselves quickly to be everything but simple.

For every interview we prepare extensive pre-readings, recommended books, suggested further study, selected quotes, "best bits" and full transcripts.

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Leaders for Humanity Trailer

Welcome to Leaders for Humanity (Season 1)

OUR BIG THANKS GO TO ALL OUR WONDERFUL PARTICIPANTS: thank you for making yourselves available and for sharing your personal experience and wisdom!


leaders for humanity video library

Series 1 and 2 Interviews now available online for FREE

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Starting from a philosophical or political perspective: Good Life and Good Society

ED FREEMAN
"We are only as good as the stories we tell."
Philosopher and Professor of Business Administration

ED FREEMAN

Can Stakeholder Theory Save Our Planet?
FRANK MARTELA
"Our life becomes meaningful to us when we’re meaningful to other people. As philosopher Antti Kauppinen once argued: for those who love us, we are irreplaceable."
Philosopher and Researcher of Psychology

FRANK MARTELA

Re-enchanting Our Organisations: Making Work Meaningful
ALEJO SISON
"The good life is not an “idea”. It's an activity. It’s not enough if some really brilliant fellow saw the idea and told everyone else about it. Flourishing is practice."
Professor for Business Ethics

ALEJO SISON

Happiness and Virtue Ethics in Business
BLAINE FOWERS
"All psychologists are originally philosophers. They just don't realise it, usually."
Professor of Philosophical Psychology

BLAINE FOWERS

An Emergent Theory of Natural Ethics
ALICIA HENNIG
“We cannot separate business from society. Business is a vital part of society. Therefore, the same ethical rules we have in society also apply in business."
Professor of Business Ethics

ALICIA HENNIG

Virtue Ethics in Business: Do we need Philosopher CEOs?
PAUL ADLER
"TO SAY THAT WE ARE FREE TO WORK FOR WHOEVER WE WANT, IS ALSO THE SAY: WE ARE FREE TO STARVE BY CHOOSING NOT TO WORK FOR ANYBODY."
PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT

PAUL ADLER

Can Democratic Socialism Save Our World?
"NEOLIBERALISM IT IS THE PERVASIVE COMMODIFICATION OF MOST ASPECTS OF PERSONAL, PUBLIC AND CULTURAL LIFE AND WELL-BEING."
PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF SOCIOLOGY

MIKE O'DONNELL

Towards Institutional and Economic Democracy



Starting from a (political-) economic perspective: Good Economy

HENRY MINTZBERG
“I am not a Human Resource. I am a Human Being.”
MANAGEMENT PROFESSOR

HENRY MINTZBERG

The Urgent Case for Rebalancing Society
STEFANO ZAMAGNI
“The welfare state was invented to cope with the shadows of capitalism.
If everybody had good work there was no need for a welfare state. ”
Professor of Economics

STEFANO ZAMAGNI

The Passionate Quest for a Civil Economy
BRUNO FREY
"Democracy is not so much about giving people the right to say yes or no. There must be an effective exchange of views - that is really what Democracy is about."
Professor of Economics

BRUNO FREY

Happiness and Economics – In Search of Better Institutions
MARGIT OSTERLOH
“Shareholder capitalism is a bad form of capitalism. It simply is not true that only the investors invest in the firm.”
Management Professor

MARGIT OSTERLOH

Stop the Crooks! The Case for Virtuous Organisations
LUIGINO BRUNI
"We can only become good workers if we are free in giving. In order for people to flourish, organisations must create the conditions for people to donate what you cannot buy."
Professor of Economics

LUIGINO BRUNI

How Capitalism Lost Happiness: Healing Our Relationships To Heal Our World
ANDRÉ HABISCH
We cannot have ethical citizen on one side and selfish, economically driven business people on the other. Entrepreneurs are crucial common good actors."
Professor of Social Ethics and Policy

ANDRÉ HABISCH

Leadership and The Art of Practical Wisdom



Starting from management and organisational behaviour perspective: Good Organisations

OTTO SCHARMER
COMING SOON
Senior Lecturer, MIT AND Co-founder Presencing Institute

OTTO SCHARMER

Theory U Revisited: Are We Beginning To Rise?
HARI TSOUKAS
"FOR THE CLASSICAL GREEKS, ANY CITIZEN WHO WOULD NOT CARE ABOUT THE COMMON AFFAIRS OF THE CITY WAS CALLED AN “IDIOT”."
PROFESSOR OF ORGANIZATION STUDIES

HARI TSOUKAS

Bridging Morality and Management
"YOU DON'T “CREATE” A REGENERATIVE LIFE OR A REGENERATIVE BUSINESS. IT'S NOT AN END STATE. IT'S A PROCESS TO STAY CONSCIOUS AND WORK ON HOW WE LIVE IN WHAT WE CREATE."
SENIOR FELLOW IN SOCIAL INNOVATION

CAROL SANFORD

The Regenerative Paradigm
MATS ALVESSON
"Culture has two major dimensions: one is that it makes us feel common and gives us some sense of direction. It is a compass. The other tends to imprison us."
Professor of Organisational Studies

MATS ALVESSON

Functional Stupidity and the Perils of Leadership
JANE DUTTON
"The place you work at is literally going to affect not just how healthy or sick you will be, but basically how long you will live."
Professor of Business Administration and Psychology

JANE DUTTON

From Suffering to Flourishing!
EMANUELE QUINTARELLI
"The only way to act as an ecosystem, or as a platform, in your market is to become an ecosystem and a platform within your organisation."
Senior Advisor in Organisational Development

EMANUELE QUINTARELLI

Pioneering New Ways To Organise
"WHILST DEMOCRACY'S ORGANISING PRINCIPLE IS POPULARITY, “CROWDOCRACY” IS BASED ON WISDOM."
CEO OF COMPLETE

ALAN WATKINS

Spiral Dynamics Continued: From Democracy towards Crowdocracy



Starting from personal development and education: Good Leaders and Good Leadership

BILL TORBERT
"What is the good life?Good questions, good friends, good work, good money. In this order."
Professor of Leadership

BILL TORBERT

A Lifelong Quest to Transform Our World- The Art of Action Inquiry
GIANPIERO PETRIGLIERI
COMING SOON
Professor of Organisational Behaviour

GIANPIERO PETRIGLIERI

Humanising Organisations: Towards Aliveness At Work
GERT BIESTA
"As a teacher you must understand a particular kind of interruption that helps students to disconnect from their desires, to stop looking for certainty about themselves."
Professor of Public Education

GERT BIESTA

Reinventing Education: A Quest Of Becoming Truly Human
DARCIA NARVAEZ
coming soon
Professor of Psychology

DARCIA NARVAEZ

The Scienceof Being Good: Can moral psychology teach us lead a good life
SIMON WESTERN
"We have to re-enchant the world. Too many people are disenchanted and they've got lost in Netflix series and locked in corporate worlds."
CEO Analytic-Network Coaching

SIMON WESTERN

A Quest for Eco-centric Leadership
coming soon
MAJOR US ARMY, RETIRED AND ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY,WEST POINT

SCOTT PARSONS



Additional resources

Our best essays about the interviews

Find all our articles and posts about topics related to the inquiry here

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THE VERY BEST QUOTES FROM SEASON 1

Our selection of insightful and inspirational quotes from all the 14 interviews in Series 1.


Case Studies Wanted: if you have suggestions for good organisations, or good leaders - or if you have come across relevant ratings and rankings, or are reasearcher in an adjacent area - please get in touch!