Ishq - the Sufi Way of leadership

This paper studies three types of leadership theories - value-based leadership, indigenous leadership, and leadership theories with traces of mysticism. The author shows how Sufism can be viewed as a framework of leadership (Spiller and Watson, 2021) that holds a sustained relevance in enduring turbulent times. The paper is timely because of increased interest in positive leadership, values-based leadership and culturally rooted leadership. This paper extends leadership literature in multiple ways. First, it brings to light the relevance of a mystic critique of Sufism built on love in the contemporary situation and is the first work to present Sufism as a different way of leadership. Second, it synchronises with the rising voice of scholars who suggest that leadership studies, devoid of context, are incomplete and that non-western models of leadership must emerge (Sudhakar, 2021; Mango, 2018). Third, it addresses the concern of scholars who have been imploring for taking leadership beyond the realms of logic and including more elements of mysticism (van Lingen, 2019). Finally, future possible research directions are discussed.