Prelims

Half Title Page

LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM THE KARDASHIANS

Series page

EXPLORING EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP PRACTICES THROUGH POPULAR CULTURE

Series editor: Michael J. Urick

The aim of this series is to examine modern and innovative business theories and methods via relatable popular cultural themes. The books will provide academically rigorous and credible applications and solutions to practitioners and upper-level business students in a format designed to be highly engaging and effective.

Titles in Exploring Effective Leadership Practices Through Popular Culture

• A Manager’s Guide to Using the Force: Leadership Lessons from a Galaxy Far Far Away

  Michael J. Urick

• Leadership in Middle Earth: Theories and Applications for Organizations

  Michael J. Urick

• Leadership Insights for Wizards and Witches

  Aditya Simha

• Leaders Assemble! Leadership in the MCU

  Gordon B. Schmidt and Sy Islam

• Bend the Knee or Seize the Throne: Leadership Lessons from Westeros

  Nathan Tong and Michael J. Urick

• Courageous Companions: Followership in Doctor Who

  Kimberly Yost

• Against All Odds: Leadership and the Handmaid’s Tale

  Cristina de Mello e Souza Wildermuth

Forthcoming

• The Elements of Leadership in Avatar: The Last Air Bender

  Sy Islam and Gordon B. Schmidt

• Leaders of the Caribbean

  Pelin Kohn and Michael J. Urick

• Swift Leadership: A Taylor-made Approach to Influence and Decision Making

  Mariah Yates and Michael J. Urick

• Slaying the Vampires, Werewolves and Demons of Ineffective Leadership

  Aditya Simha

Title Page

Exploring Effective Leadership Practices Through Popular Culture

LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM THE KARDASHIANS

Bodies, Emotions, Success

By

Brigitte Biehl

SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences, Germany

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

First edition 2024

Copyright © 2024 Brigitte Biehl.

Published under exclusive licence Brigitte Biehl.

Reprints and permissions service

Contact: www.copyright.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-83753-571-2 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83753-568-2 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83753-570-5 (Epub)

Contents

List of Figures and Table

Figures

Table

About the Author

Brigitte Biehl (she/her), PhD, is a Professor for Media and Communication Management at SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany. She held a Guest Professorship for Gender & Queer Studies in Leadership at the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, FernUniversität in Hagen, Germany, where she also works as a Researcher. Her background is in theater, film, and media studies and business studies. She worked in business schools in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. In Berlin, she directs the BA Creative Industries Management and the MA International Management “Creative Leadership” and teaches management, leadership, and artistic research. She is the Director of the IWK Institute for Professional Development at SRH which uses artistic methods for leadership development.

Her work is widely published in journals such as Management Learning; Journal of Management Studies; Leadership; Gender, Work & Organization and in marketing research journals. She has written books on Leadership in Game of Thrones (Palgrave Macmillan 2021), Dance and Organization (Routledge 2017), and on aesthetics, art, and management. Her recent work on learning with film also appeared as a chapter in the latest edition of The SAGE Handbook of Leadership in 2023. Other contributions about creative approaches to leadership appeared in Business Ethics Quarterly and leadership outlets. She is an Associate Editor of Organizational Aesthetics and an International Board Member of Management Learning and an Editorial Board Member of Leadership.

Acknowledgments

Many people have helped with the book and given inspiration. Donata Winterberg supported the entire project as a working student, helping with research on the Kardashians, giving feedback on drafts, and managing project-related tasks. Hannah Steen, Ema Jerkovic, and Lukas Heinen also have provided feedback on chapter drafts. All of them have been amazing. Students in my module Learning Lessons for Leadership from the Kardashians at SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences have also been a lot of fun to work with. For one semester, they discussed the topic from their diverse perspectives and have shared their thoughts in the sessions. They also conducted learning logs with personal reflective writings and their own drawings throughout the module and used them to develop their identity and views on leadership. Some of these drawings are used for illustration purposes in this book with their approval. I am impressed by their skill and creativity. I also appreciate the report that they have thought about many gender-related leadership issues in new ways. Some of them now see themselves in a possible leader role in the future, most of them now see their work life as something they have the power to influence. Learning with film furthered their self-awareness and critical reflection and they also report a learning transfer.

I would like to thank Jürgen Weibler, who supported me to pursue my ideas with regard to leadership development and encouraged further empirical study on learning with film which I continue beyond this book. He also welcomed my suggestion to offer a module on Leadership and Popular Culture at FernUniversität in Hagen and co-convened our conference Beyond Wonder Woman and Superman: New Forms of Leadership in Film and TV Series that is documented online. Work on this book has also received funding from FernUniversität in Hagen (“Interne Forschungsförderung/Gleichstellungskonzept 2019–2024: Genderforschung”).

I also want to thank fellow researchers on gender and leadership who have provided positive feedback on my presentations at international conferences and in other occasions. Steven S. Taylor, Founding Editor (emeritus) of Organizational Aesthetics, spoke to me regularly during the long journey of connecting artistic methods and leadership and also for development purposes. Alison Pullen produced inspiring work on gender and also exchanged her views on gender and leadership in film. Kathleen Bomani has become a critical friend and helped me to expand my views on a range of topics. Laura Lee has provided constructive feedback and further ideas on cultural and artistic practice. I thank my colleague and friend Marcus S. Kleiner, who has inspired me years ago to connect film studies and leadership. Among many other activities, he edits a German book series on popular culture in which my publication Leadership in Game of Thrones appeared.

I would like to thank Michael Urick, the editor of this book series, for issuing an invitation and for supporting this unusual project on reality TV. It developed into a fun project and opportunity which I am really grateful for. I want to thank Fiona Allison, Lydia Cutmore, and Daniel Ridge at Emerald for their support of my proposal and this book. I also thank Hemavathi Rajendran for her work as the book project editor, supporting the work process.