Public sector leadership: An emerging subfield with tremendous research potential

Mau, Tim A.

doi:10.1111/capa.12361

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…As outlined by Mau (2020), public servant leaders are increasingly expected to share responsibility with their governmental and non‐governmental counterparts in order to lead effectively. To our knowledge, however, the cross‐pollination strategies discussed by executives have not been probed in stewardship research and constitute a contribution of this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, scholars have emphasized a shift from these traditional, top‐down conceptions of leadership toward more horizontal, collaborative and collective approaches such as distributed leadership (Bourgault 2003; Dutil 2008; Mau 2020; Siegel 2015). Among the challenges of implementing these approaches, Bourgault (2003:37) documented the difficulty for bureaucratic leaders to “internalize” horizontal management mindsets (such as accepting to share power and information) and their role in promoting cultural change in their organizations.…”

Section: Canadian Landscape Of Leadership In Public Administrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can we better define stewardship for public sector executives? A research agenda

Simpkins¹,

Beaudry²,

Lemyre³

2021

Can Public Adm

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Building on an emerging body of literature, this research note aims to develop key features of stewardship through documenting the narratives of executives in the Canadian federal public service. Content analysis of interviews converged towards a conceptualization of stewardship based on four themes: 1) service over self-interest, 2) sustainability of the public service beyond one's career, 3) working with a collective orientation, and 4) mission-focused management of resources. Results also revealed contextual factors fostering and hindering stewardship such as empowering work processes, collaboration practices and network facilitation. Implications of these results are discussed, as well as avenues for future research.Sommaire : Cette note de recherche qui s'appuie sur un corpus de littérature émergente, vise à développer les principales caractéristiques de la gérance en documentant les récits de cadres de la fonction publique fédérale canadienne. L'analyse du contenu des entrevues a convergé vers une conceptualisation de la gérance basée sur quatre thèmes : 1) le service plutôt que l'intérêt personnel; 2) la durabilité de la fonction publique au-delà de sa propre carrière; 3) le travail avec une orientation collective; et 4) la gestion des ressources axée sur la mission. Les résultats ont également révélé des facteurs contextuels favorisant et entravant la gérance, tels que la valorisation des processus de travail, les pratiques de collaboration et la facilitation des réseaux. Nous discutons des implications de ces résultats, ainsi que des pistes de recherche future.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Canadian Landscape Of Leadership In Public Administrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can we better define stewardship for public sector executives? A research agenda

Simpkins¹,

Beaudry²,

Lemyre³

2021

Can Public Adm

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Furthermore, it was necessary for leaders of various professional groups, such as the health and administrative professionals, to help their "groups transcend the tribal impulse to solve interdependent problems" (Williams, 2015, p. 10), but this did not happen. This article, following Mau (2020) and Ohemeng and Huque (2017), suggests that administrative leadership matters, particularly in the context of crisis management. Furthermore, in line with the mainstream literature (Liddle, 2010;Brookes and Grint, 2010;Hartley, 2018), it argues that public leadership in general and administrative leadership, in particular, should follow a collaborative approach involving political, administrative and civic actors especially in the context of crisis governance.…”

Section: Covid-19 Pandemic Management In Bangladeshmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the public leadership literature, there is a growing consensus that public leadership is multi-dimensional. While Hartley (2018, p. 203) argues that “Public leadership may come from state, market and/or civil society,” ‘t Hart and Tummers (2019, p. 11) find three types of public leadership, namely “political, administrative and civic.” Following Mau (2020), this article mainly focuses on administrative leadership, which is particularly important for developing countries (Ohemeng and Huque, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leading in the shadows: understanding administrative leadership in the context of COVID-19 pandemic management in Bangladesh

Alam

2020

IJPL

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PurposeThis article aims to examine the COVID-19 pandemic management system in Bangladesh and the role played by various bureaucratic leaders both at national and local levels. Particularly, attention is paid to the interface between the health sector and administrative leaders. The role played by front-line public servants and their superiors are also examined. Also, an attempt is made to encapsulate lessons learned from the crisis and the ways to prepare for the next one.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on secondary data and observation by the author as well as insights from the author's 36 years of experience in the Bangladesh bureaucracy. Administrative leadership is conceptualized as bureaucrats appointed to administrative positions and discharging administrative duties both at the national and local levels.FindingsA disfunctionality in the COVID-19 management system is observed, which is a direct consequence of the administrative leaders' preference for leading from behind. Some structural constraints in the system are also uncovered.Originality/valueIt draws on observations, experiences and insights from the author's long association with the Bangladesh administrative system. Its intended users are researchers and practitioners of public leadership.

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“…Given the high profile that politicians have had during the COVID-19 pandemic and the propensity for scholars to focus on the political executive (Mau, 2020) especially the US presidency (Kellerman and Webster, 2001)when studying public leadership, we expected that our call for papers for this special issue would generate a number of submissions that focussed on the chief executives and other political leaders at different levels of government and across a range of countries. However, the submission of manuscripts with this focus was far greater than desirable since the vast majority of them adopted that approach.…”

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confidence: 99%

Guest editorial

Mau

Callahan

Ohemeng

2021

IJPL

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The public leadership research challenges of exploring the dimensions of COVID-19 responses As we write this article, many countries around the world are in the midst of a second wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 pandemic), with illnesses and deaths on the rise. There are now more than 50 million cases of COVID-19 globally and more than 1.254 million deaths attributable to the virus with fewer cases from the developing world. The most affected countries are advanced industrialized states primarily located in the Americas (US 1st and Brazil 8th) and Europe (France 3rd; Italy 4th; Poland 5th; UK 6th; Germany 7th and Spain 10th); and India, as the second most affected country, and Russia, currently sitting in ninth spot, round out the top 10 (Johns Hopkins University, 2020).While the COVID-19 pandemic has not had a uniform impact, virtually every country in the world has been grappling to contain it for the better part of a year now. One of the reasons that some countries are struggling more than others to flatten the curve of this coronavirus outbreak can be correlated to the containment strategies that have been adopted. Different countries have been confronting this crisis in their own unique ways. The responses have been varied with a tension between the role of elected officials and appointed administrative officials. On the continuum of responsible leadership, has been the central role of public leaders and administrators (Holzer and Newbold, 2020). However, rather than any one nation responding to this crisis, the Council on Foreign Relations (2020) notes that the national and international dimensions of the pandemic are mutually reinforcing and cannot be considered in isolation, developing a compelling case that public leadership needs to facilitate active global engagements across nations in addressing pandemics.To prevent the spread of the virus and minimize the loss of life, many governments resorted to enforced social distancing, which, at different points in time, led to a virtual shutdown of all non-essential economic activity. Public leaders, elected and appointed, have had to balance the serious financial and psychological ramifications on citizens as they attempted to cope with the resultant social isolation and the reduction in or complete loss of income. Leaders face tensions in balancing the concern about the health and safety of the public with a recognition that public opinion data are indicating that the financial strain from COVID-19 is an even greater concern; this holds true even for those who are not necessarily struggling to purchase food or pay their bills (Keeter, 2020; IPSOS, 2020).While it would be a stretch to call the COVID-19 pandemicand the ensuing responseunprecedented, very few societal or health events throughout human history have necessitated the range of leadership on a global scale as has been the case with this crisis. For leadership scholars, the implications are profound. The pandemic presents a richness of data from which to theorize about leadership and, m...

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Public sector leadership: An emerging subfield with tremendous research potential

Cited by 14 publications

References 21 publications

Can we better define stewardship for public sector executives? A research agenda

Can we better define stewardship for public sector executives? A research agenda

Leading in the shadows: understanding administrative leadership in the context of COVID-19 pandemic management in Bangladesh

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