Public Sector Leadership and Management

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to understand:

• Various theoretical perspectives on leadership.
• The tensions that can arise between the bureaucratic, administration-driven traditions of public services and the leadership and management styles required within new and emerging operating environments.
• The relationship between political leadership and organizational leadership.
• Different approaches adopted by public service leaders around the globe, including generalizable attributes of success and failure.
• Which existing theories of leadership are appropriate for a new public management context or whether new models or paradigms may be required to move forward.

Content

Leadership and Reform of the Public Services

• Is there a leadership problem in the public services?
• Perspectives on leadership
• Remaking the welfare state

In Search of Leadership

• Myths and conundrums
• But we are different.
• Leading in the absence of ‘profit’
• Performance and conformance – carrots and sticks

Academic Research

• Leadership and Management
• Transformational change
• Leaders and followers
• Other management leaders
• Managerial leaders and partners
• Evaluation
• A normative model of leadership

The Leadership Trajectory

• Who are the leaders? The role of politics in public service leadership.
• Followership
• Leading change and renewal – the ultimate aspiration for public service

Lessons in Leadership

• The problem leadership addresses.
• Leadership processes
• Managers and elected politicians

Training Methodology

The training methodology combines lectures, discussions, group exercises and illustrations. Participants will gain both theoretical and practical knowledge of the topics. The emphasis is on the practical application of the topics and as a result participants will go back to the workplace with both the ability and the confidence to apply the techniques learned to their duties.