Leadership and the Politics-Administration Dichotomy

Abstract This study examines state agency leadership and the viability of the traditional politics-administration dichotomy in state government. Despite all the academic theorizing about how appointed public managers should be involved in policy making, the ground truth is much different. Standing at the uncomfortable nexus of politics and administration, senior public managers face a difficult task of managing the political environment while simultaneously leading and managing their own organizations. In so doing, they face the most difficult and sensitive aspect of public sector leadership. Powerful, politically-connected actors seek to influence public sector leaders and have policies formulated and executed in ways beneficial to them. This type of political influence can often have a significant impact on the decisions of these senior appointed officials. This study examines how appointed state agency heads manage political influences to their leadership in the context of the politics-administration dichotomy. The research explores how political influence impacts agency head leadership priorities and examines the strategies developed to accommodate those influences.