Professional development leadership in turbulent times: Public administration symposium: Robust politics and governance in turbulent times

Abstract

AbstractIntense turbulence means that parameters change, interdependencies unexpectedly become critical, and public organizations experience unpredictable tempo shifts. Existing studies have explored how public managers can exercise leadership specifically aimed at obtaining dynamic resilience, but more knowledge about leadership and turbulence intensity is needed. Combining existing theoretical knowledge about robust governance in turbulent times and in‐depth analysis of 31 interviews, we examine how public managers exercise professional development leadership in situations where events, demands, and support interact in variable, inconsistent, unexpected, and unpredictable ways. We find it highly relevant for public managers to both develop and (de)activate professional norms and knowledge in such situations, implying that professional development leadership is important in turbulent times.