Writing, advice and training on leadership are growing at such a rate that the ‘field’ of leadership is better described as a tropical jungle. The plants (ideas, books, practices) are growing very vigorously, with more information being produced than could be read by a single person in a lifetime. Theories, concepts and ideas about leadership create such a thick undergrowth that it can be hard to hack your way through. It is not that any particular theory is difficult; it is just that there are so many of them, competing for the sunlight. A troupe of guru monkeys is chattering and screaming in the high canopy of the forest. You crane your neck up to catch sight of them, but they have just leapt on to the next tree. Exotic theory birds swoop past, with dazzling plumage, but they don't stay put long enough to enable you to examine them closely. Down at your feet on the jungle floor, there are snakes that may appear innocuous but can be deadly. There is a lot of vegetation but it is hard to work out which is nutritious and which is poisonous.

Grint (2005a) notes that while we have a surfeit of information about leadership, there is much less in the way of understanding. Burns (1978) wrote that “leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth” (p 2). So, how does one survive and thrive in this jungle? This book aims to provide a compass, a map and a naturalist's guide to help find a path through the undergrowth, and to enjoy the journey.

The compass is our attempt to provide strategic direction and clarity of purpose by offering concepts and theories that may help to make sense of the complexities of leadership talk and action. The map is the analytical framework, developed by the authors on the basis of the general leadership literature, and here applied to healthcare, to provide an orientation to the landscape, and to help to hack out a clear path through the jungle. The map is an analytical framework not a single theory, because the book covers a wide range of leadership phenomena (leaders, leadership, contexts, outcomes and so on) and in each of these areas particular theories may be relevant and useful.