Innovative Public Leadership versus New Public Management

Abstract

There has been an increasing momentum in public sector reform  in Indonesia after 1999. The paper will seek to explore these impact of these reforms on public leaders in Indonesia and the extent to which these reforms embraces the traditional notion of new public management (NPM). The attention will also turn to the collective nature of innovative public leaders in Indonesia. It will also explore why public leaders take the option to work together across public organizations, in Indonesia. This form of collective public leadership seeks to promote, influence and deliver improved public service. The collective nature of innovative public leadership rather than its individual construct will be explored. The paper also takes its lead from the challenges presented by new public management theory, which has been dominant for the past 25 years. It also suggest that the time is ripe to move beyond new public management theory and move towards a new innovative public leadership theory.The paper seeks to turn attention to collective nature of innovative public leadership rather than its individual construct. It also explores how and why leaders work together across public institutions. Its goes further and takes it lead from challenges presented by the new public management movement, which has been dominant for over twenty years. The paper will suggest that the time is ripe to move beyond the new public management movement and move towards a new innovative public leadership and whilst aspects of public management, the real challenge for public sector is to achieve a stronger theory of innovative public leadership that emphasizes collective nature of public leadership.

Keywords: Leadership, Public Management, and Innovative Leadership