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Argues that public services modernization is dependent on a major shift of gender cultures in communities and in senior management and policy making. Highlights the need for transformational as opposed to transactional leadership, focusing on the critical roles of transforming managers and the gender cultures they work within. Concludes that gender balance is a euphemism for actually what is required, which is the transformation of both traditional male and female indentities.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the connections between the individual philosophies of chief executives in local government and their approach to implementing change and service improvement, and how chief executives interpret their role in the improvement process, given the pressures from government and localities.

The debate on public sector reform continues to be focused on policy, restructuring and targets rather than on the practical aspects of a new public framework that will support providers to implement change and transform public services. The challenge for government, as it has been since 1997, is how to create the conditions for innovation and service transformation. It is no longer enough to develop business models that will organise services more efficiently; public sector reform also requires an energising of people and democratic relationships. A reliance in government on centralised change levers and a faith in systems rather than people has led to modernisation becoming a technical process, detached from regional and local energies. The divide between national and local stakeholders has resulted in good policies being driven by a lack of concern for relationships across the public system, particularly between central and local players. It is government that sets the scene for reform through its policy, funding and performance management, yet too often Whitehall and politicians take themselves ‘out‐of‐the‐frame’ when conducting analysis. This article argues that modernisation levers are contested by many stakeholders, that government and its administration are critical stakeholders and that it is time to reconnect the local with the national in transformation.

Turbulent times are here to stay and public leadership needs to become less managerial, more adept at harnessing resources and transforming governance. While the media continues to search for heroic leaders there is a growing awareness that there is more to public leadership than charisma and that compliant leaders do little to nurture innovation. The purpose of this paper is to address the varying concepts of leadership within public services in the UK.

This paper addresses the varying concepts of leadership within public services in the UK and offers a comparative discussion on these choices of types of leadership.

Evidence shows that successful public leaders tend to motivated by social values rather than money and that in the UK, transformative leadership is stronger at the local level than in central government, where although embryonic, political and executive leaders are forging platforms for innovation and new governance systems that central governments could learn from.

There are examples of exemplary public leadership in the UK and this paper attempts to unpack where these are, how they challenge existing leadership thinking and why new forms of leadership are critical at this time.

Mary Parker Follett was an outstanding public intellectual of her day, both in the US and the UK. We have a lot to learn from her about the ‘democratic deficit’, leadership, participation, partnership and difference, that is relevant to key current concerns in the UK. Her thinking was based on her own extensive experience, observation and reflection, her ideas are profound, relevant and accessible for us today. In this article we signal her continuing significance in three areas: building democratic processes, leadership and ideas about complexity.

Within Britain the Blair Government has committed itself to a modernisation process within the public sector. This process involves rethinking how to organise services internally and how to integrate services across government. Policy makers are talking about “joined‐up” government, innovation and partnerships. In the UK there are now a plethora of partnerships and initiatives. The Health Action Zones (HAZ) were one of the first of such initiatives and as such present fertile ground for analysis of the modernisation process. This paper draws on the experience of those engaged in the HAZ partnerships and also on research conducted by the author on “conditions for partnership”. It appears that the conditions in the UK are not conducive for partnerships when national frameworks are focused on monitoring rather than on development, and when the measurement of partnership success is short term. Although the partnership and modernisation policy encourages innovation, the development of partnerships is hampered by internal blame cultures, poor change management and a development gap in thinking among policy makers.

Proposes that arguing for greater access for women is essential but not sufficient to drive equality or the spirit of diversity.

Explores the role that women and others can play in broadening agendas and in transforming managerial and regeneration practices.

A few innovative chief executives are leading the way and showing what transforming leadership is about in practice. In spite of this the intransigent lack of diversity within decision‐making bodies produces a brake on positive social change.

Provides an insight into the leadership role of women in social regeneration.

Looks at the frustrations of women managers within local government management in the UK over a period from 1989 to 1992. Forty women managers were intensively interviewed, and they unanimously agreed that gender relations at work affected not only them personally but also their work. The majority said that the gendered institutions and culture of their authorities encouraged a lack of planning and attention to detail, a lack of responsibility and a tendency to compete and blame colleagues. They perceived this as being damaging to services and staff. In the past this culture has rendered many women managers ineffectual and demoralized. However, by 1992 many more women had reached senior positions in local government and were beginning to transform their organizations by dismantling formal management structures and restructuring towards more open forms of management and shared values. All the women interviewed are aged between 35 and 50 and worked in Northern metropolitan authorities.