Parágrafo 2

Most means by which individual leadership is assessed—e.g. evaluations by peers, staff, superiors, customers, etc.—are prone to subjective bias and generally do not have a clear objective standard or benchmark for comparison. Similarly, an individual may have a style of leadership that suits some situations (e.g. handling politically sensitive issues) more than others (e.g. strategic planning or motivating people towards a goal). This, perhaps more than for any other reason, is why 'Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth' (Burns 1979: 2) This report, therefore, is focused not so much on measuring leadership and its impact in the public sector, but on how researchers and, especially, practitioners look to understand its characteristics in a public sector context and to develop these in civil servants. Measuring leadership and its impact on organisational performance is particularly problematic. The opportunity to exhibit certain leadership qualities—especially those that might come to the fore in a crisis or a time of extreme threat—may never arise in an individual‘s career. Leadership is also resistant to measurement because it tends to be situational.)