As the field of leadership consulting
continues to proliferate, fringe-elements have developed that risk taking down
the credibility of the field itself as well as its more solid practitioners. In
this essay, my objective is to make those practitioners aware of the damage to
their field (and indirectly to their own practices) that is being committed on
the periphery. Relatedly, my task extends to making scholars of leadership
aware of how leadership itself is being undermined as a concept used (and
abused) in the business world. I contend that maintaining the distinction
between consulting (including writing on it) and scholarship is in everyone’s
interest, even if some “coaches” believe they have a momentary interest in
blurring the lines for personal gain.
The full essay is at "Leadership Consulting."