The politics of the self: A parmenidean/existentialist perspective of the project leader

Abstract

A sociologically aware, relational interpretation of project leadership has been developing, which emphasises the multiplicity of social relationships, interactions and dynamics evolving within the project and its leadership in the project environment. However, our community is at risk of producing “overly-socialized” images of project leadership, as has been the case in adjacent field of organisation studies. In this context, I introduce the notion of the politics of the self, generously aided by Parmenides of Elea, pre-Socratic philosopher (520–450 BCE), and descendant philosophers in the phenomenological/existentialist tradition. The politics of the self – the permanent political relationship that we all have with our self – suggests that the political dimension of the self is considered along with the social dimension of the self in images of project leadership in equal measure, if not more prominently.