Commentary on “Pulling the Levers: Transformational Leadership, Public Service Motivation, and Mission Valence”

• Date: 01 March 2012
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2011.02557.x
• Author: Bob Lavigna
• Published date: 01 March 2012

216 Public Administration Review • March | April 2012

management practices that can be adapted to govern-

ment, fundamental dif‌f erences exist between the two

sectors.

 is run-government-like a-business rhetoric

undoubtedly will gain even more momentum as we

move further into the silly season of the presidential

campaign.

In contrast, this article provides more evidence that

managing in government is distinctly dif‌f erent from

managing in the private sector. While those of us who

have devoted our careers to government may take this

on faith, much of the general public has a dif‌f erent

view.

One key area of dif‌f erence relates to the public and

private sector workforces.  ese dif‌f erences include

what motivates our employees to serve—and succeed—

in government and how leaders who understand these

motivations can apply this knowledge. As documented

in “Pulling the Levers” and elsewhere, this understand-

ing should inform how government agencies select,

develop, motivate, advance, and retain talent.

 is research also can be linked to the critical issue of

why public sector leaders should focus on improving

employee engagement and the steps leaders can take

to drive higher levels of engagement. Other research

has documented that employee engagement can be

a powerful force for individual and organizational

ef‌f ectiveness. In the private sector, this translates into

superior f‌i nancial performance as well as lower turno-

ver, less employee lost time, and fewer accidents.  e

latter impacts clearly translate to the public sector.

Moreover, research on employee engagement that

specif‌i cally focuses on government shows that agencies

with higher levels of engagement have more success

achieving their strategic goals.

 e link between the work of Wright, Moynihan, and

Pandey and the engagement research stems from the

According to a 2011 survey conducted by

the Center for State and Local Government

Excellence, state and local government execu-

tives reported that the number-one issue they face

today is morale. Recently released results from the

Partnership for Public Service’s annual “Best Places

to Work in the Federal Government” rankings (based

on surveys of more than 265,000 federal employees)

showed a decline in job satisfaction across the federal

government.

 ese results should not be surprising given the

current wave of attacks on the public sector and,

sadly, on public servants. A dif‌f‌i cult economic and

political climate has led to a decline in conf‌i dence in

government, as well as public sector pay freezes, cuts

in worker benef‌i ts, threats of government shutdowns,

and the certainty of budget reductions.

In this tough environment, “Pulling the Levers” has

important implications for practitioners. In particular,

the results provide the following:

• Additional—and timely—evidence that the

public sector is indeed dif‌f erent from the pri-

vate sector. As a result, managing in government

requires dif‌f erent strategies and approaches than

managing in the private sector.

• A connection to research on the topic of

employee engagement, including the role of the

leader in driving high levels of engagement, which

can be a powerful force for individual and organiza-

tional ef‌f ectiveness.

 is research should be another stop sign for those

who argue that public sector leaders should “run

government like a business.” As government continues

to come under harsh criticism—including the char-

acterization of government workers as underworked

and overpaid—the knee-jerk reaction will continue

to be that government should look and act more

like the private sector. While there are private sector

Commentary on “Pulling the Levers: Transformational

Leadership, Public Service Motivation, and Mission Valence”

Bob Lavigna

University of Wisconsin

Bob Lavigna is human resources director

for the University of Wisconsin. Previously,

he was vice president for research for the

Partnership for Public Service, senior man-

ager of consulting for CPS Human Resource

Services, and administrator of the Wisconsin

merit system. He began his career with

the U.S. Government Accountability Off‌i ce.

He is past president of the International

Public Management Association for Human

Resources and the ASPA Personnel Section.

He holds a master’s degree in human

resources from Cornell University.

E-mail : rlavigna@ohr.wisc.edu

Commentary

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 72, Iss. 2, pp. 216–217. © 2012 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.111/j.1540-6210.2011.02557.x.