What Do We Expect of Public Leaders?

2010 ◽  
pp. 121-132
Author(s):  
Lord Turnbull
Keyword(s):  
Public Leaders

Character and Competence at the Top: Gerald Ford Becomes President and Pardons Richard Nixon

Public Voices ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Terry Newell
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Moral Character ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
The Public ◽  
Richard Nixon ◽  
Public Purpose ◽  
Approval Rating ◽  
Public Approval ◽  
Public Leaders

On August 9,1974, Gerald Ford took the oath as president when Richard Nixon resigned in the wake of Watergate.   Ford's inaugural remarks and the actions that followed, aimed at restoring trust in government and gaining the legitimacy he needed to confront national problems, rested on both his character and his leadership talent.  His public approval rating soared.  Thirty-one days later, Ford spoke to the nation again, announcing his pardon of the disgraced former president.  That speech and the actions connected to it also depended on Ford's character and leadership skills.  Yet, his approval plummeted, dooming his prospects to win the 1976 election. This one-month period offers important lessons for public leaders who want to both be good and do good.  Ford succeeded in the first speech and failed in the second.   The ability to articulate a transcendent public purpose, persuade the public in a compelling way, and master the art of building political support proved decisive in both cases.   Also decisive was his character and the way he sought to call forth the moral character of the nation.   

Trust-culture leadership in local public administrators’ work

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 260-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Fairholm ◽  
Michael K. Dzordzormenyoh ◽  
Godlove A. Binda
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Public Administrators ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Leadership ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Public Leaders

Purpose Trust and culture are common themes in leadership literature and research. The purpose of this paper is it to describe an emergent model of trust-culture leadership from the comments of local government managers in the USA. The environment of local government requires a level of trust between government and citizens. Comments from local government managers suggest trust is also a component of leading public organizations. The elements of the model culled from practical insights serve to both verify and elucidate much of what is found in leadership theory in a local government context. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on qualitative interviews of practicing local government managers coupled with an analysis of essays on leadership also written by local government managers. Findings The research indicates eight elements of a model divided into three categories (descriptions of leadership in practice, tools and behaviors, and approaches to followers) that help to both describe and perhaps prescribe the work of trust-culture leadership in a local government context. Originality/value While some of what is summarized below is found in leadership literature already, the fact that these elements of leadership are intuitive to local government managers and internalized in their practice is significant. Linking both trust and culture in leadership literature is limited, and linking them both to the practical insights of public managers is even more unique. The findings verify that public leaders at the local level actually engage in leadership of a particular sort, that of trust-culture leadership. It highlights the priority of trust in local government administration. The elements of the model serve to offer public managers specific things to focus on to promote trust-culture leadership and suggest to public leadership scholars specific avenues for further investigation.

“Old Civilized Asian States”: the Perception of Eurasian Space by Russian Public Figures and Publicists at the End of the 19th and Beginning of the 20th Centuries

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 267-276
Author(s):  
Alexander Yu. Polunov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Civil War ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
The State ◽  
Russian Foreign Policy ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Public Figures ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Public Leaders

The article analyzes the issue of conceptualization by Russian public leaders and publicists of the causes and goals of the turn of Russian foreign policy to the East at the end of the 19th century. In those years there took shape the idea of specific eastern mission of Russia that influenced later the configuring of Eurasian ideology. At the same time the ideological constructions of the publicists at the end of the 19th century were rather peculiar. In contrast to the Eurasians those authors paid special attention to the “old civilized states in Asia”, like Persia and China. The necessity to support the Celestial Empire and the Christian communities in Persia was determined, according to those publicists, by Russia’s duty to protect the weak. Besides, China was viewed as the state with established autocracy concept that was very important for Russia. At the beginning of the 20th century the ideas of the “orientalists” and other publicists contemplating Russia’s special mission in Asia, lost their former influence. Their distant echo can be found in the program of the prominent White movement leader baron R.F. Ungern, who brought forward the idea of establishing a Pan-Asian monarchy relying on China during Civil War.

The latitude for loyal contradiction and public leadership: a conceptual and comparative approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frits M. van der Meer ◽  
Gerrit S.A. Dijkstra
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Leadership ◽  
Service Function ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
Public Leaders ◽  
Relevant Factors

PurposeThis paper looks into the mechanisms that determine (stimulate and limit) the scope for loyal contradiction in organizations through ex ante voice. The paper provides insights into how this essential civil service function and obligation can be maintained and the role that public leadership can play in addressing these issues.Design/methodology/approachThis paper consists of a conceptual analysis of major determinants for constraints on and stimuli of loyal contradiction and provides an interpretational framework of the relevant factors involved.FindingsThis paper examines the mechanisms that determine (stimulate and limit) the scope for loyal contradiction in organizations through ex ante voice and provides insights into how to maintain this essential civil service function and obligation through the contribution of public leadership.Practical implicationsThe findings of this paper offer insight into how to avoid constraints on loyal contradiction within public organizations and point to the way public leaders can, by facilitating and stimulating it, enhance organizational performance and legitimacy.Originality/valueThis paper points to an issue that is increasingly relevant in politics and public administration. By providing a conceptual framework, this paper provides a deeper understanding of how the necessary conditions for loyal contradiction can be created within public organizations.

scholarly journals The translational diamond: robust translation of magic concept in public organizations

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Ollgaard Bentzen
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Theory ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Leadership Theory ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Organizational Practice ◽  
Implementation Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Public Leaders

Purpose Public organizations are constantly offered new ideas and concepts that involve a substantial investment of resources when it comes to translating them into organizational practice. An especially powerful group of such concepts in the discourse of organizations comprises so-called “magic concepts” that both pose opportunities and challenges for public leaders trying to translate them. Although critical discussion about the value of popular concepts has been intense in existing research, there is still little knowledge about the factors that determine why some magic concepts have a pervasive influence, while others quickly go out of fashion and leave little trace in organizational practice. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach By combining insights from public leadership theory, implementation theory, institutional theory and organizational psychology, this paper outlines four dimensions that are central to the robustness of the organizational translation of magic concepts. The paper develops a conceptual model labeled “The Translational Diamond,” which suggests that the robust translation of organizational concepts depends on the level of both strategic and local anchoring, as well as the interplay between reflection and experimentation in the translation process. The Translational Diamond is applied in two embedded case studies, which offer insight into the variance between two organizational departments attempting to translate the same magic concept. Findings A central argument in the “translational diamond” is that bigger, balanced diamonds reflect more robust translations than smaller, warped diamonds. The results support this assumption. Although the translation of trust involves challenges in both departments, there are much more severe difficulties in the social department, which is characterized by a notably smaller and much more warped diamond than the health and care department. Research limitations/implications While this paper argues that strategic and local anchoring and the interplay between reflection and experimentation play a crucial role in the translation of magic concepts, there may be other factors at stake in the process. For example, Røvik argues that the skill of the individual translators engaged in the process is important for creating a robust translation (Røvik, 2007). In addition, magic concepts are potentially involved in a power battle with other magic concepts that are constantly competing for organizational attention (Hood, 2005). Such power dynamics may substantially influence actors’ engagement in translation, but are not within the scope of this paper. Practical implications For public leaders, the translational diamond may serve as a conceptual framework that can spur their understanding of, and reflection about, how to support the translation of magic concepts in their organization. For example, archetypically warped diamonds can illustrate the problems that might occur if translation is not sufficiently anchored in all four dimensions. Translating organizational concepts involves respect for the inherent dilemmas of securing a balance between strategic and local perspectives, as well as the strengths of securing feedback loops between reflection and experimentation. These dimensions will not necessarily be equally balanced at all times in the process of translating magic concepts. The conceptual model of the translational diamond may help leaders to understand the current status of a translation and guide them in their endeavor to support a better balance. Originality/value While symbolic change may serve other organizational purposes than effectiveness, this paper addresses the under-studied question of how organizational concepts are translated robustly into practice. The originality of the “translational diamond” is its focus on “how” rather than “whether” the translation of magic concepts should be attempted. In addition, the diamond’s integration of theoretical constructs from leadership theory, implementation theory, institutional theory and organizational theory offers a more nuanced understanding of central dimensions impacting organizational translation at a practical level.

Queering public leadership: The case of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender leaders in the Philippines

Leadership ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 174271502095327
Author(s):  
Lance Calvin L Gamboa ◽  
Emerald Jay D Ilac ◽  
Athena May Jean M Carangan ◽  
Julia Izah S Agida
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Identity ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Public Leadership ◽  
The People ◽  
Leaders And Followers ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender ◽  
Public Leaders

Research has been lacking in exploring the implications of sexual identity on public leadership and in using discursive approaches to develop gender and public leadership literature. This study utilizes queer analysis to explore how six nonheterosexual public leaders in the Philippines negotiate their leadership identities and practices vis-à-vis a collectivistic, religious, and heteronormative culture. Interview accounts yield a reimagining of public leadership as a desire for intimacy with the people. Embedded in heteronormativity, this unspoken conception positions nonheterosexual subjects as unfit to participate in public leadership spaces, compelling them to make concessions to be allowed entry into the field. Such concessions, however, do not preclude the emergence of queer public leaderships that eventually enable a leadership praxis grounded on intersectionality. These findings reveal possibilities for a radical liberation of leaders and followers from interlocking structures of oppression.

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