Widespread developments in organizing affect how leadership is embedded in public organizations. The link between leadership and formal positions in the hierarchy becomes less straightforward,... Show moreWidespread developments in organizing affect how leadership is embedded in public organizations. The link between leadership and formal positions in the hierarchy becomes less straightforward, since collaboration across organizational boundaries and flexible arrangements parallel to bureaucratic structures are increasingly common. Leadership is further complicated by the typical reality of unclear or competing goals, tasks, and stakeholder interests. Since navigating in such an ambiguous and complex context often requires a variety of leadership behaviours, this dissertation introduces a comprehensive perspective on leadership as a repertoire of behavioural options. Based on four empirical studies, this dissertation examines how leadership behaviour repertoires take shape in public organizations. By adopting a repertoire perspective, this dissertation underlines that leadership behaviour takes on many forms and is used in a variety of directions in relation to multiple stakeholders – by both managers and non-managerial employees – and indicates that use of the leadership behaviour repertoire can be explained by variation in situations, organizational context, and individual attitudes and experiences. These insights contribute to contemporary challenges for leadership in public organizations in theory and practice. Show less
Rapidly accumulating literature on public leadership tends to zoom in on specific aspects ofleaders’ behavior. Such a fragmented approach may overlook the most challenging aspect ofeffective... Show moreRapidly accumulating literature on public leadership tends to zoom in on specific aspects ofleaders’ behavior. Such a fragmented approach may overlook the most challenging aspect ofeffective leadership: combining diverse behaviors in relation to various stakeholders to matchcontextual needs. This article therefore argues for a comprehensive approach that recognizes thebehavioral complexity of most contemporary leaders, particularly in ambiguous contexts. The conceptof leadership behavior repertoire facilitates this. The article conceptualizes the perspectiveof the leadership behavior repertoire and illustrates in which ways leaders combine behavioraloptions from their repertoire using data from in-depth interviews with public leaders. Based onour findings, we propose integration of this perspective into the field’s research agenda to makeour understanding of leadership in public organizations more complete. Moreover, the repertoireperspective can challenge and advance theorizing of leadership in relation to its context and outcomesin a more comprehensive way. Show less
Hoek, M.A. van der; Beerkens, M.; Groeneveld, S.M. 2021
Public organizations are often characterized by contextual ambiguity, which creates extra demands on leaders. Yet to what extent leaders adapt their behavior to the ambiguity remains largely... Show morePublic organizations are often characterized by contextual ambiguity, which creates extra demands on leaders. Yet to what extent leaders adapt their behavior to the ambiguity remains largely unknown. Drawing on the concept of requisite variety, we hypothesize that more ambiguous situations require more complex leadership behavior. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that formal authority moderates such adaptation. Data were collected in a 2x2x2 vignette interview study with leaders in Dutch universities (nobservations ¼ 240, nparticipants ¼ 30), organizations particularly prone to ambiguity. The within-person experimental design enables analyzing how contextual variations elicit different choices by the same participant, controlled for between-person differences. Multilevel analyses show that, contrary to expectations, fewer leadership behaviors are used in situations with more contextual ambiguity, while formal authority increases the number of leadership behaviors. The results suggest that leaders in ambiguous contexts narrow the range of their actions, and a lack of authority in particular constrains the available repertoire. Show less
Hoek, M.A. van der; Groeneveld, S.M.; Kuipers, B.S. 2018
With the rise of performance management, work in the public sector has changed. An output focus has become more common. Other changes include decentralization and managing organizations more... Show moreWith the rise of performance management, work in the public sector has changed. An output focus has become more common. Other changes include decentralization and managing organizations more horizontally. Setting performance goals and working in teams exemplify these developments. Despite an extensive literature on goal setting, research on goal setting in teams and empirical studies in public organizations have been largely absent. This study contributes to the fields of public management and teamwork by examining whether and under what team conditions clear goals contribute to team performance in the Dutch public sector. Analyses on survey data (n = 105 teams) show that both goal clarity and self-management positively affect team performance. The effect of goal clarity on team performance is not affected by teamwork though, indicated by insignificant moderation effects of self-management and information elaboration. Suggestions are offered for future research to better understand goal setting in public sector teams. Show less
