Public Administration Leadership and Public Policies

Abstract

This is a study of Portuguese central public administration addressing leadership typology, using the Full Range Leadership (FRL) model to better understand the leadership effectiveness process (Bass & Avolio, 1994). The study examines of the impact of training, professional experience, and organizational context on managers performance as well as predominant leadership styles. A total of 422 participants in the Portuguese state central public administration responded to this quantitate research.The results indicate that the perception of leadership style differs significantly between leaders and followers, as does the perception of evaluation. Regarding the organization where they work, significant differences were found in the perception of transformational leadership, contingent rewards, laissez-faire, recruitment, training, and evaluation. The association between leadership style and public policies is significant, and this relationship is moderated by whether the participant holds a managerial position. This study tells us what type of leadership is predominant in public administration and its association withpublic policies.