ABSTRACT
What do public sector leaders think makes a great public sector leader? The following are some judgements of three UK public sector leaders (Smith 2015). (See Figure 2.1.) Sir Richard Leese, political leader of Manchester City Council since the mid
1990s, said the best leaders have analytical skills and understand their situation. He also said ‘a leader needs to articulate a vision; set a direction : : : to take people with you – to articulate a vision that people share’. Sir Bob Kerslake, who became head of the UK Civil Service in 2010, said,
I don’t think it’s innate, but there has to be an appetite to take control. The most important trait of leadership is being self-aware, and recognising what your own strengths and weaknesses are. You can’t necessarily alter them, but you can build up a team around you that can compensate for your weaknesses and complement your strengths.
