Mayoral Leadership in Council-Manager Cities: Preconditions versus Preconceptions

The nature and types of leadership provided by mayors in council-manager cities have not been adequately developed in previous studies. A major shortcoming has been the tendency to measure the office and performance in terms of the executive mayor whose leadership, according to the innovator model, stresses policy innovation and implementation. Neither of these dimensions of leadership is appropriate to non-executive mayors who work with equals on the council and an appointed manager. This form does, however, offer opportunities for leadership in two areas: improving the coordination among the participants in the governmental process and guiding the development of policy. The study generates a comprehensive list of mayoral roles based on content analysis of open-ended interviews with leaders in the five large cities in North Carolina. These roles are used to form a typology of leadership. When the types of leadership provided by mayors in council-manager cities are redefined, the preconditions for effective leadership are reexamined.