|

Search

National School of Government

Feedback

• Request email bulletins
• Website feedback

Whole systems go! Improving leadership across the whole public service system

On 18 August 2009, the National School of Government’s Sunningdale Institute published a report (Whole systems go! Improving leadership across the whole public service system) which sets out the parameters to promote and cultivate leadership capability across the public service.

The report, commissioned by the National School of Government and the Public Service Leaders Alliance, was written by Professors John Benington and Jean Hartley from Warwick Business School. It addresses the question ‘What would it take to create more effective leadership of the whole governmental and public service system?’

Benington and Hartley argue that the current economic crisis provides a significant catalyst for developing more effective approaches to public leadership and organisation development by working in an integrated way across the whole public service system. Their recommendations include:

• New patterns of ‘adaptive leadership’ to tackle tough, complex, cross-cutting problems in the community.
• Joined up leadership development programmes to address whole system challenges.
• Leadership development programmes that translate individual learning into organisational and inter-organisational action and improvement.

Whole systems go! Improving leadership across the whole public service system (PDF)