Effective Leadership Styles in Local Government - Coursework Example

Download file to see previous pages The structure of local government is very confusing and agencies and councils overlap creating even more confusion for stakeholders. One of the major criticisms of local governance is the amount of paperwork and bureaucracy present in local governance. Simplification and transparency are needed to transform local government into a truly proactive, citizen-centered form of representation. Along with local government reform what also needs to take place is a transformation of leadership. For too long, local government has concentrated on managing, or trying to manage, and many have forgotten, or never learned, what leadership is. The objective of this research project is to examine the various leadership styles in local government and to further research the various models, approaches and theories of leadership to determine the most effective method of local governance and the style of leadership demonstrated by local government officials that most effectively define the vision for our parishes, councils and towns.

There are many varied, definitions of what people perceive to be local government. In reviewing the literature, this definition seemed to best define what local government is or rather should be. Local government today therefore consists of a set of local authorities whose members are directly elected, whose jurisdiction embraces a range of disparate services, and whose area is relatively small compared with the major geographical divisions of the country.

The UK is comprised of a diverse array of local forms of government. The first tier form of local government is Parish or Town Councils. These councils are selected via the normal democratic process of elections.  The sizes of the councils vary greatly, ranging from small rural parishes with several hundred stakeholders to the largest urban parish with over 70,000 citizens (Newman, 2005, 10). In addition their authority varies depending on locale. In addition to parish or local councils there may be second tier council that provide local services to the community.

In the major urban areas on England there are a total of 36 metropolitan borough councils. The areas with these larger councils include: Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, Merseyside, South and West Yorkshire, and Tyne and Wear. The councilors for these larger councils are elected for four year terms.  Additionally, elections are held yearly with one third of the seats being up for election yearly. Every fourth year there is no election (How local, 2004, 3).

London itself is arranged in 32 separate Boroughs and, of course, the corporation of the city itself. The city also has the Greater London Authority as part of its local government framework. Additionally within England there are 34 County Councils which are the second tier of services provided as most of the areas also have the first tier councils. County councils as well have a four year term, although they differ in that all seat come up for re-election at the same time (How local, 2004, 3).

In addition to the councils are Regional Chambers throughout the eight regions of England, less London which has a separate chamber. Membership on the chamber comes from local councils (70%) with the remainder coming from local business and/or other organisations. The chambers are the strategic planners for the region and work with the Regional Development Agency on economic issues (How local, 2004, 3).

As has been shown the structure of local government is very confusing and agencies and councils overlap creating even more confusion for stakeholders. One of the major criticisms of local governance is the amount of paperwork and bureaucracy present in local governance. Simplification and transparency are needed to transform local government into a truly proactive, citizen-centered form of representation.

Along with local government reform what also needs to take place is a transformation of leadership. For too long, local government has concentrated on managing or trying to manage, and many have forgotten, or never learned, what leadership is. Many varied types of leadership styles will be discussed in a subsequent chapter, but before progressing further the term should be defined. ...Download file to see next pages Read More