Systemic leadership for local governance : [electronic resource] tapping the resource within / Catherine Hobbs.

Intro; Acknowledgements; Contents; List of Figures; List of Tables; Chapter 1 Introduction: Local Government Reform and a Journey to the Empty Quarter; The 'Demand' Side of the Equation: Local Government; Beyond the Mechanistic Paradigm?; The Local Government Reform Agenda: Efficiency and Improvement; Stepping off the Treadmill-Public Value; Real World Policy Making; Moving on to Wider Aspirations and Different Skills: The Generic Art of Public Service; Capacity-Building Challenges; The Context of Reform; Innovation and Learning; Collaboration; Leadership; Perceived Barriers to Progress Conclusion: A Greater Variety of SkillsThe 'Supply' Side of the Equation: A Variety of Thinking to Address the Challenges; Critical Systems Thinking: A Pluralist Approach; A Demand/Supply Dysfunction?; Conclusion: A Journey to the Empty Quarter; The Fourth Human Threshold: Social Learning; A Gateway to Thinking Differently; Bibliography; Chapter 2 Thinking Differently Matters; Introduction; A Mediative Inquiry; Why Adapt? Operational Principle: Collaborative Learning; Resource; System Failure; Conclusion; What Facet of Leadership Is Needed to Encourage the Cultivation of Thinking Differently? What Facet of Leadership Is Needed to Encourage the Questioning of Assumptions?Bibliography; Chapter 4 The Wider Context Matters; Introduction; What Is the Wider Context? Operational Principle: Dynamic Diagnostic; Resources; Strategic Choice Approach; Brief History; What's Involved; Application; Pointer to Further Resources; Strategic Options Development and Analysis; Brief History; What's Involved; Application; Pointer to Further Resources; Causal Loop Mapping; Brief History; What's Involved; Application; Pointer to Further Resources; Viable System Model; Brief History; What's Involved ApplicationPointer to Further Resources; Fitness Landscapes; Brief History; What's Involved; Application; Pointer to Further Resources; Cynefin Framework; Brief History; What's Involved; Application; Pointer to Further Resources; Conclusion; What Facet of Leadership Is Needed to Encourage the Questioning of Wider Contexts?; Bibliography; Chapter 5 People Matter; Introduction; What [Do We Need to Do]? Operational Principle: Participation; Resources; Changing Conversations; Brief History; What's Involved; Application; Pointer to Further Resources; Soft Systems Methodology; Brief History

"A truly expansive and valuable book that challenges the assumptions and constraints of current leadership thinking... Its focus on integrating theory and practice is particularly helpful in linking its key ideas to current public sector management concerns."-Gareth Morgan, Author of Images of Organization "While other authors have offered general principles of systemic leadership or given readers single approaches, Hobbs is much more ambitious: she brings together diverse, well-tested theoretical, methodological and practical approaches to provide today's leaders with a multifaceted resource that can aid them in thinking systemically. In this respect, her book is a significant advance on previous offerings, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to leaders, aspiring leaders and leadership academics around the world."-Gerald Midgley, University of Hull, UK "This is an impressive and innovative work that draws together the disparate strands of complexity theory, systems thinking and operational research to build an adaptive social learning approach for local governance, helping to shift it from a service-led to systemic-deliberative model. This is essential reading for local government actors, students of local policy and for the public policy generalist."-Robert Geyer, Lancaster University, UK Addressing matters of complexity systemically rather than mechanistically is now an ethical and practical paradigm-changing challenge for public policy. This optimistic book explores how action could be led in a joined-up way, signposting resources to thinking differently. Attention is paid to leading the design of adaptive social learning around what matters, re-connecting with public purpose to enable tailoring towards contemporary needs and constraints. Relevant to postgraduates, academics, local government managers, curious practitioners and the wider public, private and third sectors where there is interest in interpreting leadership via the cognitive capabilities of Systems Science.