Lessons in Leadership: Meeting the Challenges of Public Services Management

Citation

Liddle, J. (2006), "Lessons in Leadership: Meeting the Challenges of Public Services Management", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 111-112. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513550610640438

This book is a timely and very welcome synthesis of a wide range of theory and practical examples gathered from literature and empirical data in public and private/commercial worlds on leadership and management. It is also an excellent summary of modernisation and change in the public services over the past half century. The authors have a strong grounding in HR theory and practice, and it shows. Though the title is a good one, and very apt, as the contents illustrate, this book also has an underlying theme of public service values and philosophy. Indeed, the inclusion of up to date case studies of leadership in action is a particular strength of the book, given the paucity of general and specific cases on the public services. Each case is used to show how individuals in specific organisational contexts displayed different types of leadership, depending on the challenges they faced on taking up their new roles. Each leader did so, however, governed by a particular view of what it means to be a modern‐day public service leader. The inclusion of case material from Canada and New Zealand, as well as references to other non‐UK data, provide an innovative way of allowing the individual “voices” of adaptive and transformative leaders to be heard. These demonstrate that both authors really do believe in the force of their own argument, and reveal themselves to be adaptive and flexible authors in presenting materials in a different, and more entrepreneurial format.

Chapter one is a scene‐setting summary and an effective analysis of the historical development of public services within wider societal changes. In chapter two the authors draw from both existing leadership literature on visionary leaders to demonstrate some of the difficulties public managers have in leading and managing performance within very specific non‐profit driven conditions where there is a lack of commercial incentives. Chapters three and four include case material from around the world to illustrate the political context in which adaptive leaders integrate the many elements within the reform agenda. The enabler perspective on leadership is introduced in chapter five, with a very interesting case on Brisbane City Council, and then chapter six contains excellent case studies of leaders who have achieved success in specific contexts. The authors do highlight some of the many problems each leader encountered on taking office, but more interestingly, they show how they handled the multitude of constraints and limitations. Crucially, an examination of the important role of politicians adds to the exploration of how each leader overcame (sometimes) sustained personal abuse. The whole of chapter seven is devoted to the case of a specific public service organisation in the North of England, and then chapter eight draws together key points from the earlier findings. Its main conclusion is that leaders are enablers of transformation and renewal, as they stimulate organisational learning.

The book has a few weaknesses. The overall structure, as some chapters are not necessarily linked to preceding or following chapters. All chapter introductions and conclusions could have been strengthened and a better ordering of the case material would have improved the overall impact. Furthermore, the prose style was somewhat stodgy and pedestrian, in sections. These concerns apart, the book will be of use to a wide readership of academics, policy makers and other practitioners, students on DMS and MBAs with a particular interest in the public services, and is a very welcome addition to the field of public administration and management.