ABSTRACT
In local government, to quote the old maxim, ‘to govern is to choose’; the issues behind strategic plans are invariably about the application of scarce resources to meet key priorities in the absence of compelling scientific evidence. Roger Latham, former chief executive of an English county council and currently Visiting Fellow of Nottingham Trent University (NTU) Business School
INTRODUCTION
The system of government and the political context are bound to be important in determining the circumstances of strategic leadership in the public services. Strategic leaders in the public services may themselves be politicians. So, they are part of the political process, and in a democratic system of government, they are supposed to be responsive to the wishes of the public. If they are not themselves politicians, they may well be directed by politicians or operate within organizational and budgetary frameworks created by politicians. In their interactions with politicians, the strategic leaders may have varying orientations to the legal and political mandates that they are meant to follow. For example, in a democracy they may see themselves as servants of a democratic political process and the decisions of politicians as legitimate orders. However, this is not to be taken for granted. They may see political decisions as ill informed and irredeemably short-term, and politicians may be seen as careerist and opportunistic.
