ME Sharpe Professor

At a time of doubt and concern about government and its capacity to serve the public, this book highlights the skills and practices necessary for effective leader-managers in the public sector.

The authors begin by clarifying the differences between leadership and management. Then they draw on in-depth interviews with seven successful leader-managers in different policy fields and at different levels of the federal system to identify six critical skills and practices that are necessary for good leadership and good management in the public sector.

In the first part of the book the authors present these essential skills using extensive analysis of the interviews. The second part of the book provides the actual interview transcripts. Readers can start with a focus on the detailed presentation of the key skills and practices, and then turn to the transcripts to explore in more depth the experience of these successful leader managers.

Written in an engaging and entertaining style, and filled with interesting examples, The Historian's Toolbox opens up an exciting world of historical research for anyone interested in the past.

“This is a time in which managers are being called on the lead and those chosen as leaders must manage as well. This book knowingly argues that management and leadership exist on a continuum, and the authors offer practical lessons to guide the "leader-manager." The book also fills an important educational niche by providing important case studies of successful leader-managers, models for others.” — Robert and Janet Denhardt, Arizona State University, and authors of The Dance of Leadership (*)

“I've long resided on the management side of the leader-manager divide, constantly challenging my students to put forth a solid case for the value of a leadership-focused approach. What Dukakis and Portz have done is more than bridge the gap—they effectively make it disappear by showing how irrelevant that dichotomy is in the real world of public management (or it is leadership?). The authors also fill a ‘textbook gap’ in my public management course, providing both the raw ‘data’ (the interviews) and their well-informed and insightful analysis.” — Melvin J. Dubnick, University of New Hampshire