Public Service Exemplars: A Finer Spirit of Hope and Achievement

While the roles they held, eras in which they served, formal training for the job, personalities, and relative levels of fame differ widely, the figures profiled in this book are united in their strong belief in the efficacy of government service and a willingness to employ innovative methods for accomplishing objectives. Examining three theories of decision-making by effective leaders (autocratic leadership, democratic leadership, and delegative leadership), this book explores the way that unelected leaders working within public agencies—and, in a couple of cases, the US military—reached decisions that are widely considered to be highly effective. Profiling leaders as diverse as Robert Moses, Frances Perkins, James Webb, Colin Powell, and Anthony Fauci, to name a few, Public Service Exemplars questions whether great leadership truly is, as it is often assumed, an elusive, almost indefinable quality. Can it be taught? Are effective leaders born, made, or a combination thereof? This book will be of keen interest to both current and future public service leaders, including students enrolled in public administration and nonprofit management courses.