Introduction

At the outset, public leadership is an elusive concept and practice. This is brought about by the fact that general leadership theories are multifaceted and developed from a diverse set of intellectual backgrounds and through multiple academic disciplines—through the evolution that took place during the 20th century and—interestingly—predominantly by male thinkers. This chapter defines public leadership vis-á-vis public management and lays the ground for understanding the evolution of human-centredness in public leadership practice. Additionally, the chapter provides the motivation for writing this book, as well as its approach to leadership, and frames the scope of the book by exploring the systemic nature of society and current societal problems, suggesting how they shape leadership orientations in the domains of public policy, public institutions, and public administration. Consequently, this chapter offers a passageway to understanding the complexity of society and its role in the making of public leadership. Complexity and the complicated nature of society will be further explored in the following chapters of the book. Finally, this chapter defines the book’s key concepts while making explicit the plan of the book.