Practical Leadership in Public Administration: The Practicality of Poetry

Abstract

Can practical understandings about the human elements of leadership in Public Administration be gained from poetic literature? This paper argues that it can, supporting the view of a minority of theorists like Leo Strauss and Dwight Waldo. It analyzes four examples of such poetic utility in two Shakespearean plays – Henry V and Richard III. First, it analyzes how the winning-warrior leader Henry V is used in some business schools to teach MBWA (management by walking about). Second, it shows how the poetry in this play facilitates understanding the unconscious of public policy leadership. Third, it analyzes the relevance of text and sub-texts of the losing-warrior leader Richard III. Fourth, it analyzes the depth that Sigmund Freud explained in Richard III, including insights about what is explained as stronzi. The relevance is suggested for Public Administration theory and practice in such ways as upgrading its reflection about leadership.