Paul Spicker
Leadership: a perniciously vague concept.
Spicker, Paul
Authors
Abstract
Purpose “ Despite the vast amount of literature covering the concept of leadership, it remains contentious, under-conceptualised and often uncritical. The purpose of this paper is to question the validity of the concept and dispute its application. Design/methodology/approach “ The paper reviews what the idea of leadership means, how it relates to competing accounts of management in the public services, and what value it adds. Findings “ There is no evident reason why the supposed roles, tasks, or qualities of leadership either need to be or should be concentrated in the person of a leader; the tasks involved in leading an organisation are not in fact the tasks of motivation, influence or direction of others which are at the core of the literature; and there is no reason to suppose that leadership is a primary influence on the behaviour of most organisations. Practical implications “ In the context of the public services, there is no set of skills, behaviours or roles that could be applied across the public services; the emphasis in leadership theory on personal relationships may be inconsistent with the objectives and character of the service; and the arrogation to a public service manager of a leadership role may be illegitimate. Originality/value “ The argument here represents a fundamental challenge to the concept of leadership, its relevance and its application to public services.
Citation
SPICKER, P. 2012. Leadership: a perniciously vague concept. International journal of public sector management [online], 25(1), pages 34-47. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1108/09513551211200276
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Jan 31, 2011 |
Online Publication Date | Jun 20, 2012 |
Publication Date | Jan 31, 2012 |
Deposit Date | Jun 12, 2013 |
Publicly Available Date | Mar 28, 2024 |
Journal | International journal of public sector management |
Print ISSN | 0951-3558 |
Electronic ISSN | 0951-3558 |
Publisher | Emerald |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 25 |
Issue | 1 |
Pages | 34-47 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09513551211200276 |
Keywords | Leaders; Leadership; Public administration; Public sector management; Public sector organisations; Public services |
Public URL | http://hdl.handle.net/10059/827 |
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https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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