Leadership and self in modern and contemporary literature: Should leadership thought re-conceive self through literature discourse and representations?

This is a presentation in support of the full-paper submission to conference. It is a tangential paper exploring new meaning around leadership and self via textual representations of leadership-self inviting debate in support of Phd research. The wider research is asking: Can leaders only lead through their selves. It focuses on senior (political level) leaders and is asking are they primarily finding self through leading? Addresses also freedom, liberation and transcendence. It suggests modern leaders instinct, amongst many, are to Be-for-Others (e.g. being an identity as an expedient to achieve a goal) with resultant loss. Problems posed are: What is leadership and self in this sociohistorical and political-ideological period?