Local Governor`s Leadership Skills in Local Development Perspective

Abstract

This study analyzes the leadership and the skills that third-term local govenors who were reelected in the 2002 Korean local elections showed in the process of developing a vision and strategy for their local development during their first and second terms of office. Following Bass's (1985 two-factor model transformational and transactional theory, this paper classifies leadership skills into three types of knowledge-using skills, interorganizational begavioral skills and Interpersonal skills and examines them. The result shows that 10 out of 13 local governors preferred transformational leadership to transactional leadership. Considering only leadership skills, most governors preferred knowledge of the local environment, communication/persuasion/negotiation skills, and self-confidence and self-esteem. Moreover, 12 local governors utilized interorganizational behavioral skills more than the other two types. In particular, 10 local governors tried to change relations with the help of the public and specialists, and win cooperation and support through a communication/persuasion/negotiation strategy that utilized interorganizational behavioral behavioral skills. Thus, the paper argues that for a successful execution of services, interorganizational begavioral skills are the most important skill.