Aim: Research & write an academic essay. Practise writing in English, conducting your own research, and developing a coherent, logical argument in answer to the question.
Write in a formal, academic style. Include a bibliography. Your essay needs to be correctly referenced (Chicago style)
One question. No choice.
Length: 1500 words (excluding bibliography but including footnotes).

What are the key attributes of a successful strategic leader in the public sector?

You must use the exact words in the essay question. Answer the question. Do not make up your own question!


Critically analysing the essay question
What are the key attributes of a 1)successful 2)strategic leader in the 3)public sector?

What do we mean by successful? How do you measure success?
What/who is a strategic leader (as opposed to a tactical or operational leader for example?)
What do we mean by public sector (not private sector)?

Supporting your arguments/opinions
Use the existing academic and policy literature on leadership (theory)
Draw on your own experiences of leadership
Draw on the experiences of other strategic leaders

Some suggested reading to help you get started
RCDS Getting Strategy Right Enough
Baylis, John, James J Wirtz and Colin S Gray, Strategy in the Contemporary World (Oxford University Press, 2016)
Freedman, Lawrence, Strategy: A History (Oxford University Press, 2015)
Nye, Joseph, Soft power, hard power and leadership, 2006
Petraeus, General David H, On Strategic Leadership: An Interview with David H Petraeus

Strategic Trend Programme: Global Strategic Trends Out to 2045 (UK Ministry of Defence)
John Baylis, Steve Smith & Patricia Owens, The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations, (7th ed) Oxford University Press, 2017.
John Baylis, James J. Wirtz & Colin S. Gray, Strategy in the Contemporary World (5th ed), Oxford University Press, 2016.