THE FACILITATIVE LEADER IN CITY HALL Reexamining the Scope and Contributions ppt

THE FACILITATIVE
LEADER IN
CITY HALL
Reexamining the Scope and Contributions
American Society for Public Administration
Book Series on Public Administration & Public Policy

Evan M. Berman, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief
The Facilitative Leader in City Hall:
Reexamining the Scope and Contributions
by James H. Svara
Mission: Throughout its history, ASPA has sought to be true to its founding principles of
promoting scholarship and professionalism within the public service. The ASPA Book
Series on Public Administration and Public Policy publishes books that increase na-
tional and international interest for public administration and which discuss practical
or cutting edge topics in engaging ways of interest to practitioners, policy-makers, and
those concerned with bringing scholarship to the practice of public administration.
American Society for Public Administration
Book Series on Public Administration & Public Policy

Evan M. Berman, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief
Mission: Throughout its history, ASPA has sought to be true to its founding principles
of promoting scholarship and professionalism within the public service. The ASPA Book
Series on Public Administration and Public Policy publishes books that increase na-
tional and international interest for public administration and which discuss practical
or cutting edge topics in engaging ways of interest to practitioners, policy-makers, and
those concerned with bringing scholarship to the practice of public administration.
PUBLISHED TITLES
The Facilitative Leader in City Hall: Reexamining the Scope and Contributions

by James H. Svara
ISBN: 978-1-4200-6831-3
American Society for Public Administration
THE FACILITATIVE
LEADER IN
CITY HALL
Reexamining the Scope and Contributions
JAMES H. SVARA
American Society for Public Administration
Series in Public Administration and Public Policy
CRC Press
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The facilitative leader in city hall : reexamining the scope and
contributions / editor, James H. Svara.
p. cm. (Public administration and public policy ; 151)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4200-6831-3
1. Municipal government United States. 2. Political leadership United
States. 3. Mayors United States. 4. City councils United States. I. Svara, James
H. II. Title. III. Series.
JS331.F27 2009
352.23’6216 dc22 2008021911
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at

and the CRC Press Web site at

v
Dedication
To William N. Cassella, Jr., and Terrell Blodgett for their lifelong
contributions to advancing leadership in local government.

vii
Contents

Preface xi
Cont ributors x v
1 CONCEPTUALIZING THE FACILITATIVE MODEL
Chapter 1

Reexamining Models of Mayoral Leadership 3
JAMES H. SVARA
2 EXPLORING CONCEPTUAL ISSUES
Chapter 2

Defi ning Facilitative Leadership: A View from Inside the
Mayor’s Offi ce in Lawrence, Kansas 37
JOHN NALBANDIAN AND SARAH NEGRÓN
Chapter 3

Facilitation in Its ‘Natural’ Setting: Supportive Structure
and Culture in Denmark 55
RIKKE BERG AND ULRIK KJAER
Chapter 4

Mixing Models of Leadership in a Mayor–Council City:
A Study of Yorkville, Illinois 73
CURTIS WOOD, GERALD GABRIS,

AND BART OLSON
viii ◾ Contents
3 FACILITATION IN THE COUNCIL–MANAGER FORM
A. C
LASSIC SITUATIONS: WHEN LEADERSHIP LOOKS EASY
(E

VEN THOUGH IT’S NOT)
Chapter 5

Switching Roles from Administrator to Mayor:
Winston-Salem, North Carolina 109
KENNETH A. KLASE
Chapter 6

Guiding Change in a First Ring Suburb: Plano, Texas 125
DOUGLAS J. WATSON AND ALICIA C. SCHORTGEN
Chapter 7

Commitment to Engagement: Chapel Hill, North Carolina 143
VAUGHN MAMLIN UPSHAW
B. COUNCIL–MANAGER COMMUNITIES WITH ADVERSITY AND
C
ONFLICT
Chapter 8

Building a Town and Its Institutions: Midway, Florida 169
YAHONG ZHANG AND KAIFENG YANG
Chapter 9

Expanding the Scope of Policy Leadership through Networks:
Grand Rapids, Michigan 189
ERIC S. ZEEMERING AND ROGER J. DURHAM
Chapter 10

From Confl ict to Cooperation: Auburn, Alabama 213
WENDY L. HASSETT

Chapter 11

Partial Leadership and Alternating Styles: Stockton, California 233
ROBERT BENEDETTI AND SHAYNE LAMBUTH
Chapter 12

Charting Progress of the Empowered Mayor:
 e ‘Stronger Mayor’ in Cincinnati, Ohio 253
JOHN T. SPENCE
Contents ◾ ix
C. VERY LARGE CITY: WHERE FACILITATIVE LEADERSHIP IS
N
OT EXPECTED
Chapter 13

Beating the Odds or Changing the Odds in a Large City:
Phoenix, Arizona 283
JANET DENHARDT AND MARTIN VANACOUR
4 FACILITATION IN THE MAYOR–COUNCIL FORM
Chapter 14

Building Trust and Developing a Vision: Akron, Ohio 305
RAYMOND W. COX III
Chapter 15

 e Power to Persuade: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 327
CRAIG M. WHEELAND
5 CONCLUSION
Chapter 16

Advancing Facilitative Leadership in Practice 353
JAMES H. SVARA
Index 395

xi
Preface
A perpetual challenge facing city governments is the quality of political leadership.
Eff ective mayors provide a sense of direction and help ensure that all parts of city
government a re wo rking i n a c oordinated a nd purposeful way w ith community
support for the city’s goals. Ineff ective mayors leave their cities to drift, allow city
departments a nd s taff to wo rk i neff ectively, a nd fail to m ake a c onnection w ith
citizens. With increasingly complex problems to address, the need for leadership is
even greater.
Although t here i s general a greement about t he “ends” of m ayoral leadership,
there is disagreement about the “means.” One purpose of this book is to examine the
nature of leadership and how mayors can be eff ective using an approach to leader-
ship that empowers other offi cials rather than seeking power over them.  e book
explores how mayors can make a diff erence and get better results in city government
by providing vision, strengthening the governance role of the council, harnessing
the professional leadership of the city manager or city administrator and staff , build-
ing pa rtnerships i n a nd b eyond t he c ommunity, a nd de veloping s trong l inkages
with citizens.  is approach refl ects a facilitative style of leadership that is generally
recognized as preferable to an authoritarian or power-based style in the general lead-
ership literature (but not in the bulk of the mayoral leadership literature).
 e book is also a critical examination of governmental structure and political
process in cities. By examining mayors, it illuminates the nature of city government
and clarifi es the similarities and diff erences in cities that use the two major forms
of government a s t heir c onstitutional ba sis. D iscussions of t he topic of m ayoral
leadership in the United States usually start with the premise that “strong” may-
ors in mayor–council cities are real leaders, and council–manager mayors with no

separate powers are fi gureheads and ribbon cutters.  e potential and actuality of
leadership in council–manager governments is still poorly understood.
Mayors in council–manager cities operate in conditions that are more favorable
to developing a constructive leadership style—one that stresses working with rather
than trying to control others, and they are more likely to get support from the city
manager and administrative staff , rather than feeling the need to establish control
over administrative staff . Mayors in council–manager cities who attempt to “take
xii ◾ Preface
charge” in their cities are not only acting in ways that contradict the logic of the
form of government, they are also attempting to use a style that is less eff ective even
if it could be achieved. It may be more productive for mayors in mayor–council cit-
ies to pattern themselves after their council–manager counterparts by incorporat-
ing facilitative methods in their leadership behavior.
 ese choices are not academic questions. Mayoral leadership has been the key
issue in referenda to change the form of government in a number of large council–
manager cities. By clarifying this core issue in designing eff ective city governments,
the book c ontributes to u nderstanding t he dy namics of u rban p olitics a nd city
government.
 is book updates a nd moves beyond t he 1994 book Facilitative Leadership in
Local Government.  e format is the same, but the book provides more critical analysis
of the mayor’s offi ce. In the introductory chapter, I examine the model of facilitative
leadership and analyze the responses provided by city council members in a national
survey conducted in 2001 about the nature of mayoral leadership and how it aff ects
the performance of the city council.  ere are strong similarities in the characteristics
of e ff ective mayors in both council–manager and mayor–council cities.  e book
presents fourteen case studies of mayors from a variety of cities who have served in the
past ten years.  e studies examine the factors that contribute to eff ective leadership
and the challenges that mayors face.  e concluding chapter uses the fi ndings in the
case studies to analyze the nature of leadership in its formal and political setting.
 is book provides a transforming view of the mayor’s offi ce and identifi es lead-

ership issues related to the form of government in American cities.  e case studies
and survey data suggest that mayors in council–manager cities are better positioned
to develop positive and eff ective leadership than their so-called “strong” mayor peers
in mayor–council cities. Furthermore, mayors in mayor–council cities can be more
eff ective by incorporating facilitative methods in their leadership behavior as well.
Who is this book for?
 is book is important for a wide range of readers. It is obviously relevant for per-
sons who occupy the mayor’s offi ce or are considering whether to r un for mayor.
It blends idealism and reality by showing how to b e a m ayor who brings people
together and moves a city forward, while being a practical guide to being eff ective.
 e book demonstrates that these two characteristics tend to go together. It is use-
ful to city managers, chief administrative offi cers, and department heads who work
with mayors. Administrators cannot determine the behavior of politicians, and sub-
ordinates cannot dictate the behavior of their superiors, but having a positive model
of the behavior that is desired is an important part of “managing” your boss.  e
model that the subordinate encourages must also be consistent with the superior’s
interest, and the facilitative model can meet this criterion. When superiors are col-
laborative, they get greater buy-in and better results.
Preface ◾ xiii
 e book is also useful for administrators at lower levels in the organization and
for young professionals to understand the context in which they work and the pos-
sibilities for positive political leadership. Persons close to t he start of their careers
are likely to have negative stereotypical views of top politicians.  e common per-
ception these days is that elected offi cials are so power oriented and intrusive that it
is unwise to move into top administrative positions. Acquiring a more balanced and
positive assessment of mayors could infl uence whether these next generation profes-
sionals remain in local government service and seek to become a city manager or
city administrator. It is important for lower and midlevel administrators to under-
stand what goes on at t he top of the organization in the interactions between the
top elected offi cials and the top administrators. Although they may feel far removed

from the interactions that occur among upper level administrators and elected offi -
cials, the book illuminates and demystifi es these dynamics. It demonstrates that
partnerships are possible and that mayors often incorporate the recommendations
of top administrators and by extension of staff throughout the organization. It also
conveys the important message that politicians make important contributions to
shaping the future of local government and improving the administrative process.
Administrators who understand the role of elected offi cials have a deeper apprecia-
tion of the democratic process.
Acknowledgments
I would l ike to t hank t he c ontributing sc holars who h ave sh ared t his sc holarly
endeavor.  ey e ach e xplored t heir subject w ith p erception a nd t houghtfulness.
 ey have provided both vivid portraits and important insights that advance our
understanding of mayoral leadership. I appreciate their support and responsiveness
throughout the process of creating this book.
 e publication of this book provides an appropriate opportunity to acknowl-
edge my profound appreciation to William N. Cassella, Jr., former long-time execu-
tive director of the National Civic League, and Terrell Blodgett, the Mike Hogg
Professor Emeritus in Urban Management at the LBJ School of Public Aff airs at the
University of Texas. Bill and Terrell have been friends and advisers for a long time.
 ey have been at the forefront of eff orts to recognize and advance the contribution
of elected offi cials, and they helped with the development of Facilitative Leadership
in Local Government.  is book is dedicated to them.
I am grateful for the encouragement of my colleagues in the School of Public
Aff airs at Arizona State University. I am indebted to Allyson Ross for her assistance
in organizing the workshop on Mayoral L eadership and the Future of Council–
Manager Government held in April 2007, and to the League of Arizona Cities and
Towns for their co-sponsorship of the workshop. It provided the occasion to present
the model and get constructive feedback from t he mayors a nd council members
who are confronting the challenge of leadership on a daily basis.
xiv ◾ Preface

My w ife C laudia has b een pat ient a nd h elpful t hroughout t his project. She
provides the dual gift of being interested in my work and reminding me to pursue
interests other than my work.
James H. Svara
xv
Contributors
Robert Benedetti, PhD, is professor of political science and executive director of the
Jacoby Center for Public Service and Civic Leadership at the University of the Pacifi c
in Stockton, California. He was a m ember of t he f aculty a nd later provost at N ew
College in Sarasota, Florida, where he taught and wrote about urban politics in Florida.
He also served as dean of the college at the University of the Pacifi c. Currently, he is
engaged in a c omparative analysis of the offi ce of the mayor in seventeen California
cities. He received his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in 1975.
Rikke Berg, PhD, is an associate professor at the Department of Political Science,
University of Southern Denmark. Her fi eld of research is public administration
and local government, particularly in t he roles of local elected offi cials, political
leadership, and local government forms. Research results of the latter are published
in Rikke Berg and Nirmala Rao (eds.) (2005): Transforming Political Leadership in
Local Government, Hampshire, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan.
Raymond W . C ox I II, Ph D, i s a p rofessor i n t he Depa rtment o f Pub lic
Administration a nd Urban Studies at t he University o f A kron. He re ceived h is
PhD in public administration and policy from Virginia Tech. Dr. Cox is the author
of more than fi fty academic a nd professional publications—ten rep orts for g ov-
ernment agencies as well as more than forty professional papers. He serves as the
chair of the Local Government Management Education Committee of NASPAA
(National Association of Schools of Public Aff airs and Administration).
Janet Denhardt, Ph D, is a p rofessor i n the S chool of Public A ff airs at Arizona
State University. Her teaching and research focus on democratic values, organiza-
tional behavior, and leadership. Her recent books include  e Dance of Leadership,
 e N ew Publ ic S ervice, M anaging H uman B ehavior in Publ ic an d N on-Profi t

Organizations, and Street-Level Le adership. She e arned h er do ctorate f rom t he
University of Southern California.
Roger J. Durham, PhD, is professor of political science at Aquinas College. His pri-
mary research agenda revolves around post Cold War crises and American foreign
xvi ◾ Contributors
policy issues. He is chair of the department, as well as coordinator of the interna-
tional studies degree, a nd has led Aquinas College students to Ha iti, Honduras,
and Ireland for intense study. He has been at Aquinas College for twelve years after
receiving his PhD from the University of Oregon.
Gerald T. Gabris, Ph D, i s a d istinguished te aching professor a nd t he d irector
of the Division of Public Administration at Northern Illinois University. His pri-
mary research interests involve public sector leadership, innovation management,
organization development, and human resources administration primarily within a
local government context. He is a former managing editor of Public Administration
Review, a nd c onsults re gularly w ith n umerous l ocal governments i n t he a rea o f
strategic planning and executive evaluation.
Wendy L . H assett, PhD, has over twelve years of experience in local government
management. Currently, she teaches as a clinical associate professor of public aff airs
in the School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences at  e University of Texas
at Dallas. Her scholarly work has appeared in Public Administration Review, Public
Performance & Management Review, Review of Public Personnel Administration, Journal
of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, and other journals.
Ulrik Kjaer, PhD, is associate professor in the Depa rtment of Political Science,
University of Southern Denmark, and has been visiting research scholar at Stanford
University (1996) and the University of Colorado (2006/2007). Among his research
interests are political leadership, political recruitment, and local elections. His most
recent book is on local political leadership (written together with Rikke Berg and
published in Danish).
Kenneth A . K lase, Ph D, i s a n a ssociate p rofessor o f p olitical sci ence at t he
University o f N orth C arolina/Greensboro, w here h e i s a lso t he d irector o f t he

Master of Public Aff airs program. His teaching and research interests include pub-
lic budgeting a nd fi nance and public fi nancial management. His recent research
has focused on budget execution, performance budgeting, and local government
structure and management.
Shayne Lambuth graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the
University of the Pacifi c in 2007. She is currently pursuing a California teaching
credential. Lambuth is also the co-author with Robert Benedetti of an upcoming
article exploring t he changing relationships between mayors, councils, publics,
and managers in major California cities.
John Nalbandian, PhD, is a faculty member and former chair in the Department
of Public Administration at the University of Kansas. He is a member of the
National Academy of Public Administration. From 1991 to 1999 he served on the
Lawrence City C ommission, i ncluding t wo o ne-year ter ms a s t he c ommission’s
Contributors ◾ xvii
mayor. Nalbandian consults with local governments nationally and has spoken to
groups of local government offi cials internationally.
Sarah Negrón earned her bachelor of arts degree in political science from Wellesley
College and her MPA from the University of Kansas. Her public sector work experi-
ence includes positions with the city of Merriam, Kansas; Johnson County, Kansas;
the City of Pompano Beach, Florida; and Fairfax County, Virginia. Currently, Negrón
is a do ctoral student in the Department of Sociology at t he University of Kansas.
Her research interests include gender, feminist theory, and social inequality.
Bart Olson holds a ba chelor of science degree in political science and a m aster of
public administration degree, both from Northern Illinois University. He is the assis-
tant city administrator for the United City of Yorkville, Illinois. In March of 2006,
Olson was hired a s the city’s fi rst assistant city administrator, a nd served a t hree-
month term as the interim city administrator from June 2007 to September 2007.
Alicia C. Schortgen, PhD, is assistant professor of public aff airs at the University
of Texas at Dallas. Her multidisciplinary research interests focus primarily on lead-
ership a nd nonprofi t s tudies, a nd she h as au thored s everal manuscripts i n t hese

content areas. Prior to earning her PhD, Schortgen worked in various professional
capacities in the voluntary sector.
John T. S pence, PhD, AICP, i s a l ecturer i n p olitical science at  om as More
College. He received his doctorate from the University of Cincinnati in 2003, simul-
taneous to serving two terms on the Covington, Kentucky, board of commissioners:
one of fi ve elected offi cials responsible for overseeing a city government of over three
hundred employees and a $50 million budget. Dr. Spence’s primary research focus
is municipal government, electoral and voter behavior, and civic engagement.
James H. Svara, Ph D, i s p rofessor i n t he S chool of Public A ff airs and director
of t he C enter for U rban Innovation at A rizona S tate University. He i s a fe llow
of the National Academy of Public Administration, an honorary member of the
International City/County Management A ssociation, a nd former member of the
National Council of the American Society for Public Administration and chair of
its section on Intergovernmental Administration and Management (SIAM), as well
as recipient of SIAM’s Stone Award for outstanding research contributions.
Vaughn Mamlin Upshaw, EdD, DrPH, is a lecturer in government and pub-
lic administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of
Government. Upshaw provides local elected offi cials a nd s enior managers t rain-
ing in public administration, governance, and leadership. Upshaw has more than
twenty years experience working with and serving on public and nonprofi t govern-
ing boards at the local, state, and national levels.
xviii ◾ Contributors
Martin Vanacour, PhD, served the cities of Phoenix and Glendale, Arizona, for
thirty-fi ve years and retired as city manager of Glendale. He is a professor of practice
and associate director of the School of Public Aff airs at A rizona State University.
He is a n ationally known speaker and facilitator specializing in council manager
relations. Vanacour received a PhD from ASU.
Douglas J. Watson, PhD, is professor and director of the public aff airs program at
 e University of Texas at Da llas. He is the author or editor of Local Government
Management: Current Issues and Best Practices (2003), Spending a Lifetime:  e Careers of

City Managers (2006), and Civic Battles: When Cities Change  eir Form of Government
(2007), and four other books. His work has appeared in Public Administration Review,
Review of Public Personnel Administration, and other journals.
Craig M. Wheeland, PhD, is professor of political science at V illanova University
and serves as associate vice president for academic aff airs. He received an MPA from
the University of South Carolina and a PhD from  e Pennsylvania State University.
His research interests include leadership by elected offi cials and professional adminis-
trators in city and suburban governments; collaborative problem-solving approaches,
such as community-wide strategic planning; and municipal government institutions.
Curtis Wood, PhD, is an assistant professor in the master of public administration
program at N orthern I llinois University, w here he teaches c ourses a nd c onducts
research in public management, ethics, and regional governance. He is a co-author
of  e Adapted City: Institutional Dynamics and Structural Change with H. George
Frederickson and Gary Alan Johnson. He has twenty years of municipal govern-
ment experience, seventeen years as a fi nance director.
Kaifeng Yang, Ph D, i s a n a ssistant p rofessor at t he A skew S chool o f Pub lic
Administration and Policy, Florida State University. His research interests include
public a nd p erformance m anagement, ci tizen i nvolvement, a nd i nstitutions.
His wo rk h as ap peared i n Public A dministration R eview, Public Pe rformance &
Management Review, and Public Integrity, among others.
Eric S. Zeemering, Ph D, i s a ssistant professor of public a dministration at Sa n
Francisco State University, w here he teaches urban administration a nd i ntergov-
ernmental relations. He completed his PhD at Indiana University in 2007. His dis-
sertation examines the role of local elected offi cials in the development of interlocal
collaboration in Michigan.
Yahong Zhang, PhD, is an assistant professor at the School of Public Aff airs and
Administration (SPAA), Rutgers University at Newark. Her research involves local
government, public policy, institutions, and gender issues in the public sector. She
teaches research methods and urban policies.
1

CONCEPTUALIZING
THE FACILITATIVE
MODEL

3
1Chapter
Reexamining Models of
Mayoral Leadership
James H. Svara
Contents
1.1 I ntroduction 4
1.2 Distribution of Forms of Government 6
1.3 Dimensions of Mayoral Leadership 9
1.3.1  e Facilitative Model 9
1.3.1.1 Facilitative Model in the Leadership Literature 9
1.3.2 V isionary Leadership 13
1.4 Mayoral Leadership and Form of Government 14
1.4.1 Council–M anager Cities 16
1.4.1.1 Facilitative Roles of the Mayor 16
1.4.1.2 Indicators of Performance 17
1.4.1.3 V isionary Leadership 18
1.4.2 M ayor–Council Cities 22
1.4.2.1 F acilitative Leadership 22
1.4.2.2 V isionary Leadership 27
1.5 Conclusion and Issues to Be Explored 30
References 33
4 ◾ The Facilitative Leader in City Hall
1.1 Introduction
 e mayor’s offi ce in city government is an inherently challenging position. Mayors
have constituents who are in close proximity and expect attention to matters that

are extremely specifi c, localized, and sometimes only partially within the sphere of
city government action, if at all. Mayors can never have enough knowledge, author-
ity, or resources to deal with all the myriad problems brought to their attention, but
they are still expected to be the “problem-solver–in-chief” in their community. At
the same time, mayors are expected to provide a sense of direction and purpose for
their cities even though cities are subject to many forces in the larger government
system, in the society, and in the economy over which they have very little control.
 ey even create a sense of civic identity for their jurisdictions.  us, mayors are
expected to make their cities work in small and large matters, and these expecta-
tions are probably quite similar across cities of diff erent sizes and across countries.
Mayors diff er considerably, however, in the formal setting and the cultural milieu
in which they operate. Some have extensive direct administrative powers in their
organizations and separate authority vis-à-vis the city council in establishing and car-
rying out policy. Others are part of the council with limited or no direct independent
administrative authority.  e responsibilities of the mayors to their communities may
be very similar, but the capacity of the organization in which they work and the tools
of leadership and the resources on which they can draw diff er substantially.  ey also
fi ll their positions in a national political culture that shapes norms about what leaders
do and how they operate. Approaches that are consistent with norms seem natural
and are considered to be appropriate, whereas approaches that counter norms may be
criticized in the media or misunderstood. It is likely that formal structures and cul-
tural norms generally refl ect and reinforce each other, but this is not always the case
and is not possible when diff ering structural approaches are used in the same country,
as is the case in the United States (Mouritzen and Svara, 2002).
Persons selected to the top elected offi ce in their cities bring a number of per-
sonal characteristics to t he position t hat i nteract w ith the formal features of the
offi ce. Of particular concern are the factors that shape the mayor’s key interactions
and the mayor’s impact on the direction of city government.  ese are the leader-
ship s tyle of t he mayor a nd t he m ayor’s s ense of v ision. O ther personal f actors
are important as well, such as the mayor’s ability to c ommunicate in a va riety of

settings a nd the mayor’s level of energy and commitment, but in t his d iscussion
we will assume that mayors who are eff ective in the other t wo areas—style and
vision—are also capable of getting their message across and devote suffi cient energy
to the position. Style and vision interact in a number of important ways, but they
will be considered separately. Style and vision diff er in how they are impacted by
structural features. Mayors can be highly visionary even if they have limited formal
powers, just as formally strong mayors can lack vision.
Style of leadership as it pertains to how one interacts with others is more likely to
be shaped by formal structure. For example, the classic types of leadership styles are
Reexamining Models of Mayoral Leadership ◾ 5
autocratic or controlling, democratic or participative, and laissez-faire. Considering
the fi rst two styles, it is likely that a controlling style will be more common in cities
where mayors have extensive formal powers to reward and punish others, whereas
the sharing style will be more common where the mayor and the city council have
similar formal p owers. Still, leaders make choices about how t hey i nteract w ith
others that can r un counter to t hese expectations. B eyond form of g overnment,
cultural values may also reinforce one style or another.
 e situation in the United States is unique because two forms of local govern-
ment in American cities are widely used.*  e two forms diff er in formal structure.
 e mayor–council form is based on the constitutional principle of separation of
powers between the mayor and the council, and the council–manager form is based
on the unitary principle with all authority assigned to the city council that appoints
a professional city manager (Newland 1985).  e two forms tend to diff er in their
internal process with confl ict common in the mayor–council form and cooperation
common i n the c ouncil–manager form (Svara 1990), a nd this d iff erence persists
even when controlling for a wide range of other characteristics of the city, such as
size, growth, and socio-economic status, as well as city government features, such
as c ouncil si ze a nd pa rtisanship ( Nollenberger 2 008).  ere i s re curring debate
about the advantages and disadvantages and strengths and weaknesses of the two
forms.  e last fi fteen years has been a time of relatively high intensity in the debate

(Gurwitt 1997; Ehrenhalt 2004; O’Neill 2005).
 e diff erence in the mayor’s position is one of the most important sources of
variation between the two forms of government. It has been common to use the same
criteria to assess the mayor’s potential for leadership regardless of form. When the
preconditions of mayoral leadership are assumed to include formal authority over
staff and fi nancial resources, it is common to view the mayor in council–manager
cities as an incomplete fi gurehead who fi lls only ceremonial functions (Pressman
1972; Bowers and Rich 2000).  ere is another well developed but still not widely
recognized approach. Mayors in council–manager cities can provide leadership that
is appropriate to t he structural setting in which they function (Wikstrom 1979).
 ese mayors can be eff ective and can make a d iff erence in their cities using a n
approach to leadership that diff ers from that found in mayor–council cities. I have
proposed a leadership model that identifi es what is unique and potentially positive
about the mayors in council–manager cities.  ese mayors can be facilitative lead-
ers (Svara 1987) who guide their cities rather than drive them (Svara 1990).  e
characteristics of the offi ce in t he major forms of government a re appropriate to
diff erent logics of leadership (Wheeland 2002).
Mayors who are e ff ective at fi lling t he facilitative model improve t he p erfor-
mance of the city council and the city government overall as indicated by survey
*

 is was formerly the case in Germany and to a slight extent is now found in England, where
eleven local aut horities h ave opted to c hange to a f orm of g overnment based on a n elected
executive mayor.
6 ◾ The Facilitative Leader in City Hall
data and by case studies of successful mayors in city governments and chairpersons
in county governments (Svara et al. 1994).  ere is l imited e vidence f rom c ase
reports and a small sample study that mayors in mayor–council cities can be eff ec-
tive using the facilitative approach (Svara et al. 1994).
 e Facilitative Leader in L ocal G overnment (Svara et al. 1994) presented t he

facilitative model of leadership illustrated by eight case studies of mayors in coun-
cil–manager cities and one from a ci ty that had recently changed from the com-
mission to the mayor–council form of government.  is book builds on that work
conceptually and presents ten case studies from council–manager cities, three from
mayor–council cities, and one from a city in Denmark that uses a quasi-parliamen-
tary form that is similar to the council–manager form as a form of government
with unifi ed authority, but like a mayor–council form in the sense that the mayor
has executive authority.  is book will reexamine facilitative leadership in council–
manager cities, and also consider to w hat extent mayors in mayor–council cities
incorporate a facilitative approach in their leadership style and what eff ect it has.
 e Danish case study helps us to clarify the cultural values in which leadership is
embedded by examining facilitation in the context of another country.
 e topic needs to be reexamined for several reasons. Cities face new conditions
including demographic change and increased fi scal pressures that make it more dif-
fi cult to su stain facilitative leadership. In the pa st fi fteen ye ars, the i mportance of
the mayor’s offi ce has come to be more widely recognized in council–manager cities.
Some cities have made structural changes to “empower” the mayor and enhance the
offi ce a s a fo cal p oint of p olitical leadership i n c ouncil–manager cities, a nd some
have changed to a n e lected executive form of government (Frederickson, Johnson,
and Wood 2003; Mullin, Peele, a nd Cain 2004), a lthough both kinds of changes
are uncommon and other cities have rejected change in structure. City councils have
become more diverse and members are more actively committed to their own agendas
for political action (Svara 2003).  e case studies will examine how mayors deal with
divergent views on their councils and foster a sense of shared commitment in the face
of opposition and confl icting priorities in their cities. Many cities are confronting a
critical question: Ca n mayors w ithout separate formal powers be eff ective leaders?
Other cities might examine the opposite question: Can mayors with formal powers
provide more eff ective leadership by using facilitative approaches?
Assessment of mayoral leadership takes place in the context of the two major
forms of government used in American cities. As background to the exploration

of the mayor’s offi ce, it is important to review how use of forms of government is
changing in the United States.
1.2 Distribution of Forms of Government
 ere are two trends with respect to t he use of form of government in American
cities since 1990.  e proportion of cities that uses the council–manager form of