A new edition of a popular textbook that provides a systematic and up-to-date introduction to the different approaches to understanding leadership in the public sector. This text draws together a wide range of enduring and cutting-edge scholarship to provide a clear and concise overview of the area. Written by two of the field's leading experts, it uses real-world case studies to unpack the dilemmas and complexities facing leaders in contemporary democracies. Now streamlined to further help students navigate this widely debated area, this is the ideal text for undergraduate and postgraduate modules on leadership on public administration and management courses. Moreover, with its balance between theory and applicability it is also a valuable resource for training courses for public sector professionals. New to this Edition: - Streamlined chapter structures and improved pedagogical features that are even more useful for students - A new co-author bringing added insights from organizational science and quantitative methodologies - Revised to address the most up-to-date developments in thinking about leadership in the 21st century

Understanding and Managing Public Organizations provides a comprehensive analysis of research and practice on public organizations and management. In this fourth edition of his award-winning best seller, Hal Rainey reviews topics including organizational goals and performance, decision making and strategy, leadership, motivation, organizational structure and design, organizational change, and others. He analyzes effective and ineffective practices, with suggestions for managing contemporary and classic challenges in public organizations, and with illustrative vignettes and examples. Carefully revised and updated, this edition of Understanding and Managing Public Organizations extends previous editions with deeper coverage of collaboration and networks, public values, public service motivation, managerial strategy, performance assessment, innovation and organizational change, and recent trends in public sector management. Praise for the Previous Editions "The third edition of the classic text provides a comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of research on public organizations and management. Drawing on a review of the most current research about government organizations and managers, this important source offers specific suggestions for managing these challenges in today's public organizations." ? Abstracts of Public Administration "A masterful textbook, as well as an important and original contribution to the public organization theory literature ? both comprehensive in its treatment of organization theory and decidedly 'public' in its perspective." ?Public Administration Review "A tremendous contribution to the field. Rainey's ability to synthesize research streams from a variety of fields?such as political science, public administration, public policy, business administration, psychology, sociology, and others?is outstanding." ?Jeffrey L. Brudney, Albert A. Levin Chair of Urban Studies and Public Service, Cleveland State University

Most leadership literature stems from and focuses on the private sector, emphasizing personal qualities that bind leaders and followers to a shared purpose. As the authors of New Public Leadership argue, if these shared purposes do not build trust and legitimacy in public institutions, such traditional leadership tropes fall short of the standard demanded by contemporary public servants. For twenty years the authors have been developing a leadership education and training framework specifically designed to encourage public service professionals to ‘lead from where they sit.’ This book presents that comprehensive, integrated, and practical leadership framework, grounded in the uniqueness of public legal missions, culture, history and values. The authors explore three key elements of leadership success: 1) an understanding of our public service context, including the history, the values and the institutions that comprise our leadership setting, 2) a set of tools designed to help leaders initiate collective action in wicked challenge settings, and 3) tools to support sound judgment, enabling leaders to do the right thing in the right circumstances for the right reasons. The authors further provide readers with a basic understanding of democratic institutions, encouraging them to work within and across multiple vertical and horizontal systems of authority. The book is organized into four sections, each of which is accompanied by a Master Case that provides the reader with an opportunity to apply the principles and leadership tools discussed in the text to practice. To further reinforce the practice-centered approach to leadership knowledge and skills, the authors have developed an accompanying EMERGE Leadership Handbook, complete with exercises, available online. Written specifically with the practicing public manager in mind, this book arms public servants with a large repertoire of leadership skills, designed to accommodate changing public values and conflicting priorities at all levels of our public organizations.

'Leadership' is routinely admired, vilified, ridiculed, invoked, trivialised, explained and speculated about in the media and in everyday conversation. Despite all this talk, there is surprisingly little consensus about how to answer basic questions about the nature, place, role and impact of leadership in contemporary society. This book brings together academics from a broad array of social science disciplines who are interested in contemporary understandings of leadership in the public domain. Their work on political, administrative and civil society leadership represents a stock-take of what we need to know and offers original examples of what we do know about public leadership. Although this volume connects scholars living in, and mostly working on, public leadership in Australia and New Zealand, their contributions have a much broader scope and relevance.

What does it mean to be a leader? How does a person lead? And what are the features that distinguish leaders from other people in the organization, and their role from other roles or functions? Based on years of proven experience and scholarly biblical insight, Tom Marshall opens up fresh perspectives on the essence of leadership. He describes how and why it is distinct from management, administration, or ministry and provides readers with the tools necessary to implement successful, long-term leadership. Christian leaders will find clear guidance on topics such as foresight, trust, criticism, caring, status, timing, failure, honor, and the dangers of power. Packed with contemporary examples and New Testament truths, Understanding Leadership also identifies the critical capacities and characteristics of a leader. It emphasizes lifestyle, attitudes, and relationships, helping today's leaders foster interdependence while maintaining identity and integrity within their church, business, or community.

An ideal resource for students and professionals, this comprehensive reader offers a diverse collection of the foremost writings on leadership and management in the public and nonprofit sectors. The book includes previously published essays, articles and extracts from leading books and periodicals, framed and vetted by author and professor James L. Perry. The anthology covers a wide range of topics, offering a third sector perspective on the general leadership questions essential to any manager--principles and practices of leadership, organizational change, corporate culture, communication, efficiency, ethics--as well as issues unique to public and nonprofit organizations--understanding leadership roles in the nonprofit world, founder vs. ED relationships, board leadership, alternative and collaborative leadership, strategic management, sustainability, and the future of leadership. Praise for The Jossey-Bass Reader on Nonprofit and Public Leadership: "The Jossey-Bass Reader on Nonprofit and Public Leadership is the most comprehensive collection of essays on leadership available. It should be required reading for all of those who teach, practice and are students of the art and science of leadership." ?Stephen E. Condrey, University of Georgia "This collection of short and readable pieces will be very valuable for students and practitioners of public and nonprofit leadership." ?Michael O'Neill, professor of nonprofit management, School of Business and Professional Studies, University of San Francisco "James Perry has provided a very valuable tool for nonprofit and public sector leaders. This collection represents the very best lessons for leaders, from John Gardner to Kouzes and Posner. The clear structuring and framing of the articles makes this a perfect handbook for nonprofit and public sector leaders of all types." ?Ronald E. Riggio, Henry R. Kravis Professor of Leadership and Organizational Psychology Director, Kravis Leadership Institute, Claremont McKenna College "Jim Perry brings together in a single volume much of the best writing on leadership theory and leadership 'doing.' For anyone interested in the attributes and practice of leadership, this is the book, looking back at what's been proven effective and forward to what's needed in the next generation of leaders." ?Timothy L. Seiler, director, The Fund Raising School, The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana

Examining public service from the perspective of the worker, this book provides a new framework for understanding the roles and responsibilities of front-line public servants and assessing the appropriateness of their actions. Public employees who work at street level face some of the most intractable, pervasive, and complex problems in contemporary society. Drawing on more than 1500 hours of observation of police officers and social service workers in four states, this book explores the types of situations they confront, the factors they consider, and the hard choices they make. Presenting numerous cases of how these individuals acted in various situations, the authors show how public servants translate the expectations of administrators and others into legitimate street-level action. Vinzant and Crothers propose the concept of leadership as a positive and realistic framework for understanding what these public servants do and how they can successfully meet the daily challenges of their very difficult and complex jobs. They show how changing the theory and language we use to describe street-level work can encourage decisions that are responsive both to the needs of the clients being served and to the broader community's need for accountability. They also examine how street-level leadership can change the way agencies recruit, train, and manage these employees and how society defines their role in governance. This book offers valuable insights for those working in or studying public administration, policy analysis, criminal justice, and social work.