Based on the findings of a longitudinal action research programme that stretched over 7 years, this chapter examines the fundamental organisational challenges facing the public sector when seeking paradigmatic change. The programme built a new leadership capacity containing a creative hub within which a new understanding of leadership across the whole organisation was encouraged. However, despite a vibrant and inclusive energy being generated that challenged the organisation both strategically as well as operationally, drawing in contributions from across the organisation, radical change faltered. The chapter explores how forces both positive (the defence of core values) and negative (resistance to the unfamiliar) ultimately restrain radical change. The combination of both these elements (coined 'organisational obstinacy') seriously impedes paradigm shifts occurring. Public leaders may face such organisational obstinacy when responding to change in the aftermath of the C-19 pandemic. The study offers a model of how such forces can be successfully managed.
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your Elgar Online account
-
Front Matter
-
Part I: PUBLIC LEADERSHIP AS A NEW THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR LEADING PUBLIC SERVICES IN THE INTERESTS OF THE PUBLIC
-
Part II: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON LEADERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE
-
Part III: PUBLIC LEADERSHIP IN PRACTICE: THE ‘GOOD’, THE ‘BAD’ AND THE ‘DOWNRIGHT UGLY’ OF PUBLIC LEADERSHIP
-
Back Matter
