Focusing the Public Leadership Lens: Research Propositions and Questions in the Minnowbrook Tradition

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Getha-Taylor, Heather; Holmes, Maja Husar; Jacobson, Willow S.; Morse, Ricardo S.; Sowa, Jessica E.
• 署名单位: University of Kansas; West Virginia University; University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; University of Colorado System; University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; University of Colorado Denver; Children's Hospital Colorado
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH AND THEORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1053-1858
• DOI: 10.1093/jopart/muq069
• 发表日期: 2011
• 页码: I83-I97
• 关键词: service motivation; sector; performance; INQUIRY

摘要

Although there is no shortage of general studies and theories of leadership, the same cannot be said for public leadership. This concern surfaced as a critical issue among scholars at the 2008 Minnowbrook III conference. Drawing from that discussion, this article calls for invigorating the study of public leadership within public administration (PA). We present the case for public leadership, that is, leadership for the public good, where challenges are complex, stakeholders are many, values are conflicting, and resources are limited. Traditional, generic models of leadership-as in, leading followers toward some specific goal-do not align well with these current challenges. We argue for studying public leadership specifically, rather than trying to retrofit existing concepts of leadership from business management or elective politics. PA should be the leading voice in understanding and promoting public leadership. By examining previous public leadership scholarship through three broad lenses-the character of public leadership, the function of public leadership, and the jurisdiction of public leadership-we develop theoretical propositions designed to drive a revitalized research agenda. We conclude with a set of research questions we see as critical to crystallizing the significance of public leadership.