– The purpose of this paper is to explore the experience of senior leaders who move into the public sector from other sectors of the economy, a process referred to in this paper as inter-sector senior leader transitions. This is a little researched area of public sector leadership yet has significant implications for fundamental public sector reform.
– The paper employs an interview design to elicit senior leaders' stories of their transition into the public sector.
– The data suggest that successful senior leader transitions are more likely when a set of conditions is met; the leader transitions into CEO role, rather than levels below CEO, ministers provide inter-sector transition support, senior leaders develop responses to stress, senior leaders reject high formalization, their change processes focus on building capacity, and senior leaders confront dysfunctional organizational relationships directly.
– The research relies on a relatively small sample. However, access to senior managers at this level can be difficult. Nevertheless, those senior managers who participated were very willing to share their stories.
– If public sector organizations are to realize the value of successful leaders from other sectors, they need to invest in structured processes that facilitate the transition. A laissez-faire approach is not viable given the cost of such transitions.
– The paper focuses on a little researched area of leadership experience which has significant implications for the development and change of the public sector.
