Scottish public sector leaders must rely less on "celebrity leadership" and more on partnership and collaborative efforts, in order to help Scotland face up to social issues, especially in the current financial situation.
That's the finding of a new report, Leadership in the Public Sector, published on 5 June by the Economic and Social Research Council.
The report identifies a trend of "celebrity leadership" in which leaders are credited with having all the answers.
In the private sector problems at the top led to the crisis in Scottish financial institutions, such as RBS, but similar leadership issues also apply for the Scottish public sector, according to the report.
Instead, Scottish public sector leaders need to throw their weight behind collaborative and partnership responses to complex social issues.
Keith Grint, professor of public leadership and management at Warwick University, and one of the authors of the report, says problems such as violence and drug abuse require different government bodies to work together in new ways.
Individual leaders don't have all the answers, he says, but can ask the right questions and inspire new thinking.
From Bubb's Blog
From Whitehall Watch
