Oxford University Press Developing Public Service Leaders: Elite orchestration, change agency, leaderism, and neoliberalization

Developing Public Service Leaders examines why and how governments and representative bodies in public service organizations have mounted major interventions over the last two decades to develop senior staff as leaders. A critical explanation is developed of the foundational contribution made by national leadership development interventions in the 2000s to the emergence, proliferation, and normalization of leadership development provision. Through carrying out qualitative research in England, the authors investigate the national leadership development interventions for school education, healthcare, and higher education. Whilst also looking at the contemporary legacy of these interventions within a global scale, examining the growing international movement and comparing interventions across the world. The book looks at new ways to approach leadership development, adopting a novel perspective on leadership as a metaphorical concept and coining the concept of 'leaderism', and exploring how although senior staff may be widely acculturated as leaders, they may not necessarily be committed to acting as government change agents. Leadership development makes a diffuse contribution towards the ongoing neoliberalization of public services. Developing Public Service Leaders is a comprehensive and essential read for a researcher or policymaker striving for an in-depth understanding of the field and its ramifications.