Virtual Special Issue: Leadership in Public Sector Management

The International Journal of Public Sector Management has devoted huge attention to leadership, encouraging authors to illuminate the features that make this phenomenon unique in the public sector. Far from adopting an optimistic view, which emphasizes its bright side, a critical perspective is espoused, shedding light on the dark side of leadership. This virtual special issue gathers the most intriguing contributions contextualizing leadership in the public sector published in our journal in the last few years. The VSI articles provide us with a multifaceted understanding of leadership. On the one hand, they warn of the risks related to toxic leadership, from which the public sector is not immune. Toxic leaders leverage their position, exploiting followers and taking advantage of them. Undermining the inner sense of public service, toxic leadership disrupts the work atmosphere and disengages public servants. On the other hand, they emphasize that leaders’ behaviors should fit the distinctive organisational and management challenges public sector entities face, empowering public servants and engaging them in public value generation. An overview of the insights offered by the VSI articles follows.

Hattab et al. (2022) argue that, alongside representing a management flaw, toxic leadership is an organisational risk. They focus on toxic leaders’ abusive, narcissistic, self-promoting, and unpredictable actions, exploring how toxic leaders trigger counterproductive behaviours. Strategies intended to reduce toxic leadership and align leaders’ actions and followers’ expectations are crucial to prevent organisational shortcomings. Indeed, toxic leadership threatens employees’ morale and organisational effectiveness, prompting turnover and discouraging prosocial behaviors. Leaders must be accountable for their behaviours, and continuous evaluations of leadership styles and practices are essential to ensuring a healthy work environment.

Dash et al. (2022) further reflect on the role of leadership in triggering motivation. They explore how basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) influence public service motivation. They stress the importance of leadership styles, pointing out that servant leadership enhances psychological needs, while autocratic leadership curbs them. Selecting the appropriate leadership style cannot be left to contingencies: it is a strategic decision with direct implications for employees’ engagement and public service performance. Adding to these arguments, Gnankob et al. (2022) investigate the effect of servant leadership on organisational citizenship behaviours. Servant leadership enhances public service motivation. However, the time spent with servant leaders was not found to moderate the implications on organisational citizenship behaviours. This suggests that the impact of leadership styles does not come from the intensity of the relationship; rather, it is determined by the quality of interpersonal exchanges.

Inquiring about the effectiveness of leadership styles, Van Wart et al. (2022) examine how compassionate leadership can be a transformative force driving social change. The authors identified 19 leadership examples that display Ardern’s alignment with social change leadership principles, that embody a compassionate yet impactful strategy for social change. However, tensions in how social change leadership translates into tangible outcomes have been found. A critical point can be elaborated based on this evidence: leadership cannot be discussed without considering its context and tangible impacts. While compassionate leadership may serve as an ethical and empathetic guide, the absence of alignment with performance outcomes undermines the very essence of leadership.

Building on the idea that leadership styles are far from inconsequential for organisational dynamics, Sudha et al. (2023) examine if and how transformational leadership impacts job performances. Despite possessing transformational leadership qualities like inspirational motivation, public sector managers were found to be unable to implement change. Moreover, a shortage of resources and misaligned hierarchies inhibited performance and motivation. In such circumstances, an ‘old-fashioned’ leadership style, i.e., transactional leadership, is effective. However, it should be complemented by visionary leadership to inspire public servants.

Adding to these points, Jacobsen and Salomonsen (2021) highlight the importance of aligning leadership practices with the institutional field where public sector entities operate. Transformational leadership, with its focus on vision-sharing, improves interpersonal relationships. Nevertheless, transactional leadership can foster communication exchanges. Leadership styles and approaches must be context-aware to be effective. While transformational and transactional leadership can improve communication, their impact is molded by how they fit the inner dynamics of public sector entities.

In sum, leadership styles are not enough—they must be supported by a deep understanding of the institutional, social, and organisational features characterizing public sector entities. Effective leadership is more than inspiring; it is about delivering results in a way attuned to the environment in which leaders and their teams work.

 

Professor Rocco Palumbo – Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Public Sector Management
Dr Damiano Petrolo – Editorial Assistant, International Journal of Public Sector Management

The articles listed below are freely accessible from the 13th of December 2024 to the 13th of January 2025

Leadership strategies and internal communication in public organizations
Christian Bøtcher Jacobsen, Heidi Houlberg Salomonsen

Jacinda Ardern's compassionate leadership: a case of social change leadership in action
Montgomery Van Wart, Michael Macaulay, Katie Haberstroh

Transformational leadership and job performance of Maldives Civil Service employees, mediated by organisational commitment
Aminath Sudha, S.M. Ferdous Azam, Jacquline Tham

Contrasting effects of leadership styles on public service motivation: the mediating role of basic psychological needs among Indian public sector officials
Sanket Sunand Dash, Rajneesh Gupta, Lalatendu Kesari Jena

The effect of toxic leadership on turnover intention and counterproductive work behaviour in Indonesia public organisations
Syahruddin Hattab, Hillman Wirawan, Rudi Salam, Daswati Daswati, Risma Niswaty

Servant leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour: the role of public service motivation and length of time spent with the leader
Robert Ipiin Gnankob, Abraham Ansong, Kassimu Issau