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Leadership of Public Bureaucracies: The Administrator as Conservator

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Larry Terry died too young. This is his legacy. It is a wonderful legacy. Larry presents a normative theory of administrative leadership that draws heavily on the works of Philip Selznik. He argues that public officials should be institution builders and "Conservators" of public institutions, vigorously protecting their integrity (buffering), and when called upon to do so, adapting to change (exploiting opportunities to strengthen institutions). He also suggests a number plausible reasons for believing this is how public officials are disposed to behave. But, do they? Interestingly, the rich body of empirical analysis carried out by Kenneth Meier and Larry O'Toole implies that this is precisely how public officials tend to behave and that, when they do behave like Larry's conservators, good things happen. This is challenge to those who, like myself, are predisposed to managerialism, one that deserves a very respectful hearing and consideration.

This book is also elegantly written and argued.