It helps anchor a specific period of this author’s publishing run instead of blending into the undated shelf clutter.
Barbara Kellerman
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5
Catalog books
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4
Works
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1986 to 2024
Strongest span
Who This Author Is
Barbara Kellerman examines leadership by flipping the lens: she centers followers and the consequences of poor leadership. In Followership she maps how followers shape outcomes and authority, offering frameworks that reframe responsibility, agency, and the dynamics beneath formal power structures.
In Leadership from Bad to Worse Kellerman continues her critical scrutiny, tracking how leaders and institutions decline and why harm persists. The book dissects patterns of failure, complacency, and ethical erosion, pairing rigorous observation with sharp arguments about accountability and the limits of leadership alone.
Best Place To Start
Author At A Glance
Best known for: Analysis of followership and its impact on leadership • Critiques of leadership failures and dysfunction • Practical frameworks for understanding leader–follower dynamics
Genres and themes: Leadership studies • Organizational behavior • Power and accountability • Ethical critique
Who this author is best for: For readers who want clear, evidence-based critiques of leadership and practical insight into how followers shape outcomes.
Start with Followership to learn foundational concepts, then read Leadership from Bad to Worse for contemporary case-driven analysis.
Top Books To Start With
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Harvard Business School Press • 2008 • standard commitment
UPB note: one of the most common used-copy publishers for this author • year signal: 2008 • 288 pages.
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Oxford University Press • 2024 • standard commitment
UPB note: year signal: 2024 • 257 pages.
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McGraw-Hill • 2010 • standard commitment
UPB note: year signal: 2010 • 299 pages.
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The Political Presidency: Practice of Leadership from Kennedy through Reagan
Oxford Univ Pr on Demand • 1986 • standard commitment
UPB note: year signal: 1986 • 312 pages.
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James Macgregor Burns Academy of • 2000 • commitment varies by edition
UPB note: year signal: 2000.
How The Picks Compare
- Leadership from Bad to Worse is the easier short commitment, while Followership asks for more reading time up front.
- Followership gives you an earlier look at this author’s shelf, while Leadership from Bad to Worse leans later in the catalog.
- Leadership is also useful if you want a different publishing lane from Followership.