Educating Leaders: From the Abstract and Rational to the Concrete and Personal

Abstract

How can business educators nurture in their students the qualities of transformational leadership: charisma, inspirational leadership, intellectual stimulation and individualised consideration of employees? This philosophical paper suggests such idealistic outcomes cannot be achieved without a shift away from abstract rationalism and towards concrete, personal engagement with the world and its people. It arrives at this suggestion by synthesising Kuhnian and Heideggerian philosophy with learning styles and personality research and with the characteristics of rationalist and post-rationalist business paradigms.