Introduction

In this short chapter we set the scene for our exploration of the contribution of Negative Capability to leadership practice. As we strive to navigate and make sense of the unparalleled global challenges facing us, organisational life is still influenced by the image of effective leadership as an individual in a position of authority with exceptional capabilities, and most significantly possessing knowledge that others do not. If we want to update our image of leadership and renew our relationship with knowledge, it starts with a commitment to self-knowledgeself-knowledge and a new approach to leadership education. It is against this backdrop that we situate Negative Capability in leadership practice as a way of being when working in uncertainty. The brilliance of the English poet, John KeatsKeatsand achievement, who coined the term Negative Capability, was to understand how ‘high achievementachievement’ relies on a temporary abstinence from active, measurable, or positive capabilitiespositive capabilities, in favour of just being—creating what might be thought of as an empty space that is normally filled with thoughts, emotions and activity. As such, Negative Capability has a place in the leadership landscape in relation to the experience of being without—not knowing, not acting, and not having, as well as associated tensions, contradictions, ambiguities, and anxieties inherent in its practice.