When Things Go Off the Rails: Leadership Derailment in Local Government

• Author: Lauren Dula,Maja Husar Holmes,Willow S. Jacobson,Kristina T. Marty
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0160323X221115424
• Published date: 01 December 2022
• Date: 01 December 2022
• Subject Matter: Field Notes

https://doi.org/10.1177/0160323X221115424

State and Local Government Review

2022, Vol. 54(4) 362 –374

© The Author(s) 2022

Article reuse guidelines:

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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X221115424

journals.sagepub.com/home/slg

Field Notes

1137322SLGXXX10.1177/0160323X221115424State and Local Government ReviewDula et al.

research-article2022

When Things Go Off the Rails:

Leadership Derailment in

Local Government

Lauren Dula

1

, Maja Husar Holmes

2

,

Willow S. Jacobson

3

, and Kristina T. Marty

1

Abstract

Using focus group data, this exploratory study examines beliefs about leadership derailment among

local elected off‌icials across North Carolina. Our respondents generally conceptualized derailment

as the consequences that had happened to elected leaders, particularly no longer being in off‌ice, and

identif‌ied a range of problematic behaviors that can derail off‌icials. Compared to the private sector,

derailment in a public setting can impact a wider segment of society. It can occur when elected pub-

lic off‌icials violate not only professional but also broader public service values or when they have

missteps outside of their governance roles.

Keywords

local government, leadership, derailment, elected off‌icials

Introduction

While news about national politicians’struggles

dominate the headlines, the missteps of local

elected leaders f‌ill local news, and the impact

is often quickly realized within the community.

With more than 90,000 local government units

across the United States (U.S. Census 2017),

over a million leaders are instrumental in

designing policies and implementing public

programs. Although many studies examine

effective leadership in the public sector includ-

ing in local government (e.g. Dula et al. 2021;

Vogel and Masal 2015; Vogelsang-Coombs

and Miller 1999), little is known about behav-

iors that derail public leaders. Moreover, these

off‌icials may not be the only ones who pay a

price if they are derailed. When leaders fail,

trust in government, the legitimacy of the dem-

ocratic process, and the credibility of public

actions may also be undermined (Downe et al.

2013). Thus, understanding leadership derail-

ment and what contributes to it is important.

Although limited studies examine derailment

in the public sector, scholars have conducted

more research on the issue within for-prof‌it

organizations. Building on these studies, we

provide insights into what leadership derailment

1

Department of Public Administration, Binghamton

University

2

Department of Public Administration, West Virginia

University

3

School of Government, University of North Carolina,

Chapel Hill

Corresponding Author:

Lauren Dula, Department of Public Administration,

Binghamton University

Email: ldula@binghamton.edu

, Binghamton, NY, US

, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, US

, Morgantown, West Virginia, US

, Binghamton, NY, US.