Searching for Leadership: Secretaries to Cabinet in Canada

Although the subject of leadership is a hot topic, it has never attracted much attention in the public sector. Searching for Leadership is the first book to examine the evolving role and leadership of the highest-ranking public servant in Ottawa or in any of Canada’s Provinces and Territories, the Secretary to Cabinet, or the Clerk.

Arguing that the leadership role of the Secretary to Cabinet must be appreciated and understood in light of modern management practices and the centralization of administrative practices, the contributors to this volume present a mixture of approaches to the position: literature reviews, structural approaches, and biographical case studies of influential Secretaries to the Cabinet. Analyzing the role of Secretaries to the Cabinet in Ottawa as well as in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, and Ontario, the contributors detail the roles, key functions and impact of these highly influential public servants, highlighting the ways in which the leadership skills of Secretaries to the Cabinet have changed and responded to change.

An important contribution to understanding Canadian governance and public management, Searching for Leadership is essential reading for scholars and students in political science, history, public administration and management, as well as public servants.