Public Values Leadership: Striving to Achieve Democratic Ideals

by Barry Bozeman, Michael M. Crow

Overview

Instead of private gain or corporate profits, what if we set public values as the goal of leadership?

Leadership means many things and takes many forms. But most studies of the topic give little attention to why people lead or to where they are leading us. In Public Values Leadership, Barry Bozeman and Michael M. Crow explore leadership that serves public values—that is to say, values that are focused on the collective good and fundamental rights rather than profit, organizational benefit, or personal gain. While nearly everyone agrees on core public values, there is less agreement on how to obtain them, especially during this era of increased social and political fragmentation. How does public values leadership differ from other types of organizational leadership, and what distinctive skills does it require?

Drawing on their extensive experience as higher education leaders, Bozeman and Crow wrestle with the question of how to best attain universally agreed-upon public values like freedom, opportunity, health, and security. They present conversations and interviews with ten well-known leaders—people who have achieved public values objectives and who are willing to discuss their leadership styles in detail. They also offer a series of in-depth case studies of public values leadership and accomplishment. Public values leadership can only succeed if it includes a commitment to pragmatism, a deep skepticism about government versus market stereotypes, and a genuine belief in the fundamental importance of partnerships and alliances. Arguing for a "mutable leadership," they suggest that different people are leaders at different times and that ideas about natural leaders or all-purpose leaders are off the mark.

Motivating readers, including students of public policy administration and practitioners in public and nonprofit organizations, to think systematically about their own values and how these can be translated into effective leadership, Public Values Leadership is highly personal and persuasive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421442020
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	10/12/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Barry Bozeman is a Regents Professor and Arizona Centennial Professor of Public Management and Technology Policy at Arizona State University. He is the coauthor of The Strength in Numbers: The New Science of Team Science and Rules and Red Tape: A Prism for Public Administration Theory and Research. Michael M. Crow has served as the president of Arizona State University since 2002. He is the coauthor of Designing the New American University and The Fifth Wave: The Evolution of American Higher Education.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1. Public Values Theory: A Short, Practical History
Chapter 2. Three Premises of Public Values–Based Management
Chapter 3. Public Values Management Propositions I
Chapter 4. Public Values Management Propositions II
Chapter 5. Mutable Leadership
Chapter 6. Case Studies in Public Values Leadership
Chapter 7. Public Values Case: St. Mary's Food Bank and the Durability of the Public Values Leadership
Chapter 8. The Starbucks-ASU Alliance
Chapter 9. Public Values Management and Leadership: A Conversation
Afterword. COVID-19 and Public Values Leadership
Notes
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

Ben Sasse

We need massive change in American higher education—new institutions, new models, more rigor, more pluralism, more public mindedness, less arrogance, more creativity, better measurement; in short, more value. Toward those ends, we need more of the thoughtful wrestling that Crow and Bozeman offer in this wonderful book. You likely won't agree with every single thing they suggest to advance our shared public values, but you'll be very well served by listening deeply to their design ideas. Read it.

Leisha DeHart-Davis

Written in a highly conversational tone and drawing on case studies and interviews, Public Values Leadership deftly dispels the notion that public values are the province of government, that any particular sector is more adept at delivering values of any kind, and that public values leadership is the domain of individual heroes and heroines. Bozeman and Crow bring the subject to life and make it accessible to a broad audience.

Ana Mari Cauce

Timely and informative. Bozeman and Crow confront us with questions and issues that we should all be examining at this critical moment in our democracy. Case studies provide us with illustrations of how to lead, not only with words but with actions.

David Van Slyke

Governance has changed. It's not Government versus Markets. It's government and markets AND a healthy dose of partnerships deeply enveloped with public values leadership and pragmatism. Bozeman and Crow turn upside down how we look at what organizations do and their societal impact.

Mitch Landrieu

I love this book. Crow and Bozeman offer a much-needed guide to leading well during tough and turbulent times. They give us a roadmap for utilizing pragmatic solutions in search of essential public value. Follow these suggestions and you will learn to lead a public value organization that brings people together, gets things done, and has transformative impact.

From the Publisher

Written in a highly conversational tone and drawing on case studies and interviews, Public Values Leadership deftly dispels the notion that public values are the province of government, that any particular sector is more adept at delivering values of any kind, and that public values leadership is the domain of individual heroes and heroines. Bozeman and Crow bring the subject to life and make it accessible to a broad audience.
—Leisha DeHart-Davis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, author of Creating Effective Rules in Public Sector Organizations

I love this book. Crow and Bozeman offer a much-needed guide to leading well during tough and turbulent times. They give us a roadmap for utilizing pragmatic solutions in search of essential public value. Follow these suggestions and you will learn to lead a public value organization that brings people together, gets things done, and has transformative impact.
—Mitch Landrieu, former Mayor of New Orleans / Founder and President, E Pluribus Unum Fund

We need massive change in American higher education—new institutions, new models, more rigor, more pluralism, more public mindedness, less arrogance, more creativity, better measurement; in short, more value. Toward those ends, we need more of the thoughtful wrestling that Crow and Bozeman offer in this wonderful book. You likely won't agree with every single thing they suggest to advance our shared public values, but you'll be very well served by listening deeply to their design ideas. Read it.
—Ben Sasse, US Senator for Nebraska

In this profound book, Bozeman and Crow remind us that the government is not the only, and sometimes not the best, promoter of the public good. Their model of public values leadership offers hope for a way through our polarized politics to practical solutions that truly address the complex challenges we face across our nation and around the world.
—Teresa W. Gerton, President and CEO, National Academy of Public Administration

Governance has changed. It's not Government versus Markets. It's government and markets AND a healthy dose of partnerships deeply enveloped with public values leadership and pragmatism. Bozeman and Crow turn upside down how we look at what organizations do and their societal impact.
—David Van Slyke, Dean, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University

Timely and informative. Bozeman and Crow confront us with questions and issues that we should all be examining at this critical moment in our democracy. Case studies provide us with illustrations of how to lead, not only with words but with actions.
—Ana Mari Cauce, President, University of Washington

Teresa W. Gerton

In this profound book, Bozeman and Crow remind us that the government is not the only, and sometimes not the best, promoter of the public good. Their model of public values leadership offers hope for a way through our polarized politics to practical solutions that truly address the complex challenges we face across our nation and around the world.