ABSTRACT
This chapter contends that policy styles depend on the nature of leadership. A successful leadership style in decision-making can be conceived of as a style that is more likely to produce supported reforms (in terms of achieving authoritative decisions that solve problems and produce support), given the features of the politico-administrative regime in a given country. The assessment of successful public leadership (as a more encompassing process across the entire policy cycle) depends on three criteria: the impact (in terms of the delivering of effective policies that solve problems), the support (in terms of the winning and keeping of support from the electorate and from key governmental actors), and the trustworthiness (in terms of the requirement that leaders have to be responsive to multiple accountabilities). From this perspective, this chapter offers to bridge the public policy literature with the leadership studies by showing how policy styles translate into leadership patterns, and how leadership styles affect policy outcomes.
