Imagination, self‐knowledge, and poise : Jim March’s lessons for leadership

Abstract

James G. March was a founding father of modern organization theory, and arguably its most eclectic scholar. His elegant writings, which were underpinned by a behavioural view of organizations, spanned ambiguity and choice, rationality and decision‐making, organizational change, organizational learning, and institutional theory, among others. In this editorial, we remember Jim March by reflecting on his lessons for leadership. It is structured into three parts, each portraying a key aspect of contemporary leadership: imagination, self‐knowledge, and poise. March believed that these qualities were essential to leadership, and he embodied them to the fullest