On the particular challenges of managing professionals

Abstract

Management and leadership together make up an interesting discipline. Running or orchestrating an organization in a smart way, to make it innovative, productive, effective, and attractive, has always been on the agenda for businesses and in the public sector. Principles around how to manage and lead have been proposed in thousands of textbooks and articles. Some of these are quite specific, directed at particular industries or vertical sectors; some toward certain kinds of organization; and others are geared to the different levels of management (e.g. directors, middle managers). For the purposes of this chapter, we will focus on approaches to leading or managing professionals, with an emphasis on the academic world.