Developing Public Service Leaders: Elite orchestration, change agency, leaderism, and neoliberalization

Developing Public Service Leaders explores why and how governments and representative bodies in public service organizations have mounted major interventions to develop senior staff as leaders. It investigates the national leadership development interventions for school education, healthcare, and higher education and examines the contemporary legacy of these interventions within a global scale. The book looks at new ways to approach leadership development and explores how senior staff may be widely acculturated as leaders but may not necessarily be committed to acting as government change agents.

Format: Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 10 November 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

The book "Developing Public Service Leaders" delves into the compelling reasons and innovative approaches governments and representative bodies in public service organizations have employed over the past two decades to cultivate senior staff as leaders. It offers a critical analysis of the significant contribution made by national leadership development interventions in the 2000s to the emergence, proliferation, and normalization of leadership development provision. Through qualitative research conducted in England, the authors explore the national leadership development interventions in school education, healthcare, and higher education. Additionally, they examine the contemporary legacy of these interventions on a global scale, exploring the growing international movement and comparing interventions across different countries.

The book takes a fresh perspective on leadership, viewing it as a metaphorical concept and introducing the concept of "leaderism." It sheds light on the fact that while senior staff may be extensively acculturated as leaders, their commitment to acting as government change agents may vary. Leadership development, in this sense, makes a diffuse contribution to the ongoing neoliberalization of public services.

"Developing Public Service Leaders" is a comprehensive and indispensable resource for researchers and policymakers seeking a deep understanding of the field and its far-reaching implications. It provides valuable insights into the strategies employed by governments and organizations to develop effective leaders, and its analysis offers valuable lessons for practitioners and policymakers alike.

Weight: 732g
Dimension: 240 x 162 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780199552108