Interdisciplinary lessons for contemporary challenges The zeitgeist leadership practice of excelling at work

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop a rich and textured narrative that utilises scholarly evidence, empirical research, and practitioner knowledge to shape, inform, and extend understanding of the leadership practice of "excelling at work" as it is enacted for zeitgeist organisational challenges. Design/methodology/approach - In order to achieve this, it traverses a temporal timeline from circa 350 BC to the present millennium, to examine extant theories and concepts and emerging wisdom at the intersection of domains as seemingly diverse as neuroscience, cognitive and social psychology, contemplative practice, positive psychology, and organisational behaviour and leadership. Findings - Complex environments require individual and collective agency for efficacious and adaptive responses. Extant theories and new insights on effectance, meaningful work, signature strengths, purposeful attention, self-control, deliberate practice, grit, explanatory styles, and mindsets amongst others, interconnect and at times intersect to form an empirically validated narrative on the augmented leadership practice of excelling at work in challenging times. Originality/value - Overcoming zeitgeist challenges adaptively, requires organisations and their people to excel at work. Innovative combinations and connections of key constructs and concepts, underpinned by empirical evidence from a variety of disciplines, explicate the nature and enactments of this vital leadership practice of excelling at work.