Dynamics of Leadership in Public Service by Wart Montgomery Van;

Author:Wart, Montgomery Van;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1900083
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group

A service ethic did not play a significant role in the specification of leadership traits in the modern mainstream literature until strong ethical themes were introduced into the field in the late 1970s with Burns (1978) and Greenleaf (1977). Of course, many classical philosophers from around the world who have studied leadership qualitatively have given service mentality a prominent place among the traits. (See Exhibit 11.3 for an example of an Arabic scholar who was far ahead of his time.) Burns stressed the importance of elevating followers’ motivations in times of change such that more selfish and short-term interests could be transcended for the greater corporate good. Similarly, Greenleaf emphasized the critical moral responsibilities that leaders have to their followers and maintained that such responsibilities exceeded those to the corporation. Even then, this aspect of leadership was generally not included in most trait and competency studies, with the notable exception of public sector studies. Nonetheless, it did figure prominently in the work of many management and organization theorists such as Tom Peters and Peter Block. In its 1992 study, the OPM included client orientation, and in the 1999 study split this trait-competency into service motivation and customer service. More recently, in his study of British executives from both the public and private sectors, Rankin (2001) found that a service ethic was tied for second place among important leadership competencies. Yet, whether a service ethic is better classified as a trait, skill, or managerial behavior, it has become very important in practical terms in most organizations in the past twenty years, and it was certainly already ethically important before that.

Having a moderate degree of some traits can be optimal for leadership effectiveness, but it is difficult to have too much service mentality. Paying close attention to the interests of the public at large, clients, and employees can really be only a liability if their interests are taken out of context and thus become overweening. The public may not be aware of technical demands, clients generally do not care about expense to the state, and employees tend to focus on their personal needs. While expanding decision-making processes to include as broad a group as possible, leaders occasionally not only have to go into executive mode for technical reasons, such as emergencies, but most experts believe that leaders must also promote their own integrated vision, however they ultimately include others in the molding and refinement of that vision over time. The exact role of the administrative leader’s vision continues to be a matter of debate in the public sector.

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