Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31297/hkju.17.2.6
How to Lead a Locality: Evidence from Local Political Leaders in Slovenia
Simona Kuković
; Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana
Abstract
The paper discusses the application of certain aspects of political leadership in Slovenian municipalities. The author investigates how Slovenian mayors perceive their role in the local community, how they perceive the function of political leadership, and which characteristics prevail in the leadership of Slovenian municipalities. The author is particularly interested whether mayors place an emphasis on the characteristics of leaders or of managers while leading their municipalities. According to the data from a comprehensive project on local political leadership in Slovenian municipalities, mayors identified the following as the most important mayoral tasks: attracting resources from external sources, ensuring the quality of local services, encouraging new projects in the community, and creating a vision for the municipality. Furthermore, the mayors were asked about the areas in which the municipalities should have more competences. The largest proportion of mayors responded that municipalities have (too) few competencies in the area of local development. This response coincides with a strong preference for (and the focus of Slovenian mayors on) local development in the sense of local investments, development projects, and development of the local economy. The paper also presents a newly designed characteristic typology of mayors as leaders and mayors as managers. The analysis shows that three quarters of Slovenian mayors possess the characteristics and working patterns
typical of leaders. In addition, the proportion of mayors who have the clearly defined characteristics and working patterns of managers is very low. Based on an extensive analysis of empirical data, the author concludes that the majority of Slovenian mayors lead their municipalities in a visionary way, with a longterm stance on municipal development on the basis of established rules and procedures, and with a preference for personal contacts with citizens and the use of emotional intelligence. In the differentiated system of Slovenian local
government mayors are mostly democratic, proactive, and strategically oriented visionaries, who see their position as a long-term mission.
Keywords
local political leadership; roles and tasks; mayor; Slovenia
Hrčak ID:
183526
URI
Publication date:
27.6.2017.
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