Focusing the Public Leadership Lens: Research Propositions and Questions in the Minnowbrook Tradition

Public Leadership: A review of the literature and framework for future research

“…Moreover, instead of applying generic concepts of leadership to the public sector, the 'new public administration' approach is concerned with common goods, democratic values and public trust (Crosby and Bryson 2005;Frederickson 1997) and with how public service ethics can be preserved in an age of non-hierarchical collaboration across sectors (Goldsmith and Eggers 2004;Huxham and Vangen 2005;Luke 1998). In line with that, current research places emphasis on the 'public' element of public leadership, which it defines as a normative commitment to the core values of public services (Denhardt and Campbell 2006;Getha-Taylor et al 2011). This concern for democratic accountability is largely in keeping with the stewardship view of administrative leadership, whereas the other approaches tend to follow the entrepreneurial view, placing greater emphasis on managerial discretion (Denis, Langley, and Rouleau, 2005;Van Wart 2003).…”

Public sector leadership: An emerging subfield with tremendous research potential

“…Although scholars have identified many potential research trajectories to explore, a number of overlapping themes are discernible. One would be the need to undertake more longitudinal studies; this would enable researchers to track the career path of public servants in order to determine how they alter their behaviour and leadership style over time (Hartley ; Orazi, Turrini and Valotti ; Getha‐Taylor et al ).…”

“…Van Wart () specifically identified the need for more empirical work to develop and test a comprehensive leadership model suitable for the public sector, while Orazi, Turrini and Valotti () believe that it is required to explore the impact of a leader’s integrity and emotional intelligence on group performance. Instead of appealing for more empirically based studies on the practice of administrative leadership, Getha‐Taylor et al () argue that further research should determine the best methodologies for studying leadership.…”

“…Somewhat surprisingly, given the rather robust literature on the use of public sector leadership competency models, the academic community has also been challenged to contribute more in this area (Van Wart ; Getha‐Taylor et al ). Additional gaps in the public sector leadership literature exist but it is impossible to document them all.…”

Risk Governance

“…Similarly, Getha-Taylor et al (2011) also propose that public leadership needs to reflect the strong commitment for creating and sustaining public interest and public values. Thus, in reforms such as New Public Management a lot of focus was laid on accountability and trust-building.…”