A perpetual challenge facing city governments is the quality of political leadership. Eff ective mayors provide a sense of direction and help ensure that all parts of city government are working in a coordinated and purposeful way with community support for the city’s goals. Ineff ective mayors leave their cities to drift, allow city departments and staff to work ineff ectively, and fail to make a connection with citizens. With increasingly complex problems to address, the need for leadership is even greater. Although there is general agreement about the “ends” of mayoral leadership, there is disagreement about the “means.” One purpose of this book is to examine the nature.
