Street-Level Leadership: Rethinking the Role of Public Servants in Contemporary Governance

Abstract

Demands for governmental reform and reinvention have created new pressures on public servants to help create a government that works better and costs less. At the same time, changes in management approaches are pushing higher levels of responsibility and discretion downward to lower levels of the organization. Together, these factors have: (a.) increased the range and scope of discretion front-line public servants exercise, and (b.) created an environment in which bureaucratic decision making is scrutinized against an increasingly complex set of standards. Traditionally, researchers have viewed the tension between bureaucratic discretion and accountability through one of several frames: bureaucracy, public policy, professionalism, or politics. While each of these perspectives is useful, none fully captures the challenges and responsibilities facing public servants in the present environment. This paper describes and evaluates a model of public service based on the notion of leadership. We argue that street-level leadership is a useful theoretical perspective because it stresses the importance of values, relies on skills and expertise, encompasses a wide range of discretionary behaviors, and provides a framework for evaluating the appropriateness and legitimacy of discretionary choices.