Defining Hybrid Heroes: The Leadership Spectrum from Scoundrel to Saint defines the hero (and his or her journey) from a hybrid perspective, exploring the spectrum from scoundrel to saint. It utilizes a more dynamic and situational outlook, regarding heroism not only as a personal characteristic, but also as a series of heroic acts within a given situation.

The book examines the hybrid hero from several distinctive points of view, e.g. through lenses dominated by fiction, business, politics and psychology, and paints a new, more complex portrait that takes full advantage of the authors’ varied backgrounds. Inge Brokerhof has an academic background in psychology and has studied the impact of narrative fiction on workplace variables, such as career identity, employability and moral leadership. Stephan Sonnenburg has studied Joseph Campbell and the impact of the hero’s journey on creativity and innovation management. Greg Stone is a communications consultant who teaches executives and professors how to explain their work in clear and compelling language..

This book will be at once theoretical and practical, with a combination of substantial intellectual content to satisfy an academic audience and a series of specific recommendations to meet the needs of thinking managers seeking to improve their leadership skills. In the “real world” of business, leaders are often both scoundrel and saint. They are role models and anti-models at the same time. The authors show how they can make these warring traits work for them and how academics can gain a new perspective on approaching leadership and management.

Inge Brokerhof is a writer and researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, with a special interest in fictional narratives, rhetoric, social psychology and storytelling.

Stephan Sonnenburg is professor at the Karlshochschule International University, with a special interest in creativity training, creative flow, design thinking, business and idea development, and innovation management.

Greg Stone is a communications consultant in the Boston area. He began his career as a writer at Time Inc. in New York, and as a TV reporter in Minneapolis, Boston, and on PBS. 

Anthem Series on Thresholds and Transformations

Anthem Impact

Chapter 1: From the Traditional to the Hybrid Hero (by Stephan Sonnenburg); Chapter 2: Changing Perspectives: Villain-Heroes in Fictional Narratives and Organizational Leadership (by Inge Brokerhof); Chapter 3: Fools and Anti-Heroes (by Greg Stone).