Working life and work are changing, and so are the prerequisites for succesful leadership. Satu Uusiautti and Sanna Wenström’s (eds.) ‘Positive Leadership: Research-based Insights of the Future of Leadership’ opens up new perspectives on leadership, leadership development and positive practices. What is positive leadership and what perspectives does it offer for the future?


In recent decades, leadership research has witnessed a shift towards a new understanding of the holistic nature of leadership. It has been recognized that leadership has a significant impact on the well-being and flourishing of employees and organizations.

The new book invites us to think about how the workplaces of today and tomorrow should be led. The book provides a research-based description of positive leadership research and research-based development of leadership.

“The perspectives of the articles lean on positive psychology and positive organizational research. They illustrate how leadership affects the success of organisations through the well-being of leaders and staff,” describes Dr. Sanna Wenström, Lecturer at Oulu University of Applied Sciences.

In the introductory part, Uusiautti and Wenström, who edited the book, define what positive leadership is. The second part examines the development of a dynamic leader from the perspectives of authentic leadership, strengths, embodiment, and emotional identity, among other things. The third part tackles the phenomena of leading emotional well-being management and strengths in workplaces and discusses psychological contracts, positive interaction, and the importance of engagement to work and strengths. The fourth part focuses on positive leadership practices and, in particular, recent research on social relationships in new types of work environments, such as multi-locational work.

The last part of the book turns its gaze to the future: the authors reflect on strategic management that strengthens well-being, intergenerational interaction in the workplaces of the future, as well as the value base of leadership and common good.

“In the book, we highlight the versatility of working life. We have also included critical discussion about the current state of positive leadership, various interventions and future research needs,” professor Satu Uusiautti sums up.

The authors of the book represent a large group of Finnish researchers, many of whom are current researchers and alumni of the University of Lapland.

Uusiautti, Satu ja Wenström, Sanna (Eds.): Positive Leadership: Research-based Insights of the Future of Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan 2026.

Information about the book on Springer’s website: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-02369-8

Further information

Professor Satu Uusiautti
satu.uusiautti@ulapland.fi
University of Lapland

Lecturer Sanna Wenström
sanna.wenstrom@oamk.fi
Oulu University of Applied Sciences