Failed Leadership in Four Shakespearean Tragedies: 'Julius Caesar', 'Macbeth', 'Hamlet' and 'King Lear'.

摘要

This qualitative study explored leadership failure in characters from four plays written by William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet and King Lear. The literature reviewed suggests that leadership failure is understudied (Kellerman, 2004) and that the phenomenon is complex and contextually determined. This study's findings are closely related to concepts in the literature and this analysis consistently discovered concepts derived from the literature in the dramas examined. This study employed the qualitative research methodology of hermeneutics, a field of literary criticism using constant comparative procedures. The texts of the plays were subjected to repeated literary close readings through the lens of ideas, concepts and theories concerning leadership failure. Each reading yielded additional insights which added to the evolving interpretation which, in turn, added to understanding applied in subsequent readings. This process of repeated, evolving readings is called the "hermeneutic circle" (Holman & Harmon, 1986, p. 234). The study investigated two major issues: (a) the ways failed leadership is depicted in the selected four major tragedies of Shakespeare, and (b) the ways the selected tragedies of Shakespeare expand our understanding of failed leadership as reflected in the literature.;The study found four areas of insight into the nature and causes of leadership failure: (a) the use and abuse of power, (b) situational influences upon leader success, (c) leader-follower interactions leading to failure, and (d) the importance of the moral basis of leadership. The study found a close alignment between the characters in the narratives of Shakespeare's plays and current literature on leadership failure. This alignment suggests that there are consistent, enduring and discernible elements of human nature expressed in the shared narratives of our cultural heritage fundamental to leadership success. The study implies that practicing and aspiring leaders would do well to encounter the moral insights and psychological depth of great literature. Of especial value was the study's highlighting of the moral basis of leadership and leadership failure, as the literature suggests that "by seldom addressing the possibility of deeply hurtful behavior in our management literature, we have given evil undue power" (Delbeq, 2001, p. 25). This study addresses that concern.