There are few moments in academia that bring more sense of satisfaction than when you first see your thoughts and ideas printed on paper. Today, Anders Söderholm and I could enjoy such a moment when our book chapter on academic leadership came into print. The chapter called “Beyond Conventional Leadership/ On Homo academicus (dux) and Ontological Assumptions in Academia” is part of a book called “Debating ‘Homo Academicus’ in Management and Organization Ontological Assumptions and Practical Implications” edited by Silvia Cinque and Daniel Ericsson. 

Below, you will find our introduction. If you find it interesting, you can download the complete book here.

To understand the question of “who we are” as scholars, we must look at ourselves in the mirror and examine what shapes our reflection. After all, “who we are” is influenced by “where we are” and the taken-for-granted assumptions in that specific setting (Morgan, 1980). In this chapter, the focus is on Homo academicus and his/her habitat, i.e., the University setting. The aim of the chapter is twofold. First, we aim to challenge some taken-for-granted assumptions of this setting by discussing three conditions that, we argue, better explain the essence of “where we are”. The three conditions are reversed hierarchy, lateral independence, and community-based belonging. Our discussion takes its basis in how these conditions deviate from standard assumptions in organizational theory and leadership practices regarding how power is distributed, the role of dependencies among units and practices, and how a sense of belonging is formed. Second, based on these alternative assumptions, we intend to discuss the consequences thereof for Homo academicus and Homo academicus dux (i.e., the academic practitioner and the academic leader). We propose that the conditions we outline not only shape “who we are” but ultimately explain why and how Homo academicus and Homo academicus dux acts the way (s)he acts. By that, we advance the understanding of everyday practice and leadership in the academic setting, in general, and within management and organizational sciences, specifically.