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Abstract

This special issue of the journal is focused on neuroleadership, specifically in relation to health leadership. A somewhat nebulous term, neuroleadership refers to an emerging movement within the leadership field, which draws from recent developments in the technologies and findings of neuroscience and attempts to apply them to the complex field of leadership. Given the vastly different levels of knowledge being represented by the component disciplines of neuroscience, psychology, and organizational leadership, this is clearly an ambitious goal, one which has been met with mixed reactions. To many of us, neuroscience provides a missing piece of the puzzle to understanding the struggles and successes of leaders within organizations; in contrast, others have posited that efforts to bridge the gulf between the microscopic world of neuroscience and the socio-cultural world of leadership in this manner are unrealistic. Yet, as authors and speakers are increasingly referencing neuroscientific concepts to support their interpretations of human behaviour, there appears to be an appetite for explorations of what neuroleadership can offer to our understanding of some of the most elusive aspects of how leaders influence organizational realities.