Theoretical and conceptual approaches to the research of leadership aspects in public authorities

Problem setting. Aspects of leadership have been studied throughout the entire history of humanity, and since the 80s of the 20th century it has become a subject of systematic research of various sciences, scientific investigations of ways and means of development of leadership qualities of a person have been carried out [25, p. 73]. The phenomenon of leadership is extremely rich in its manifestations and functions and depends on historical epochs, types of political systems, specific situation, peculiarities of leaders and their constituents and other factors [25, p. 76].Accordingly, during the critical period in the development of the Ukrainian society, the old principles of governance lose their efficiency and stop to work. It becomes difficult to exercise leadership in a world where creativity is valued more than diligence, indicating a change in the nature of the leadership phenomenon. Taking into account that Ukraine is currently in a zone of turbulence, there is an urgent need to improve approaches to human resource management in the system of public authorities. Therefore, aspects of enhancing the effectiveness of management and leadership in the public service are still gaining relevance in further research.In our publication we will focus on our own thoughts on the development of leadership in general and leadership in public service on the basis of analysis of the source base of scientific research on leadership.Recent research and publications analysis shows that the problem of leadership in public administration is constantly in the sight of the scientists who are trying to grasp all edges of the leadership phenomenon. However, this topic is still more thoroughly designed and developed by foreign scientists, among them: A. Adler, K. Lewin, R. Bales, R. Tannenbaum, I. Weschler and F. Masaryk, P. Drucker, F. Fiedler, V. Vroom, F. Yeatton, M. Mescon, P. Hersi and C. Blanchard, W. Bass, Conger and R. Kanungo, A. Fllley, R. House, S. Kerr, B. Chester, C. Shrishame, F. Fiedler and others. The scientific paths of formation and development of leadership were also studied by native scientists. These include T. Vasylevska, N. Honcharuk, I. Hrishchenko, S. Derzhanovska, A. Kliuchnikov, A. Lipentsev, L. Pashko, A. Pakhariev, T. Pidlisna, L. Prykhodchenko, A. Rachynskii, I. Surai, S. Seriohin, V. Tolkovanov, P. Khaitov and others. At the same time, the leadership of the civil service was repeatedly emphasized by NAPA (National Academy for Public Administration) scientists O. Parkhomenko-Kutsevil, O. Piddubchak, V. Poberezhnaia, N. Popadiuk, P. Sydorenko, R. Storozhev, S. Chernova, S. Haiduchenko, and others. Some positions of works of these scientists are used in the further for substantiation of own understanding of leadership.At the same time, the largest Google search engine for the query «leadership in public administration» (status 23.08.2021) received 558,000 links, which indicates that the concept of leadership is very popular. We have reviewed a few of them that are relevant to our own research [6, p. 35].Highlighting previously unsettled parts of the general problem. The research of leadership development in the public service is of particular relevance for modern Ukrainian society. Accordingly, the authors studied theoretical and conceptual approaches to the research and development of leadership in public authorities, taking into account the priorities of the “Public Administration Reform Strategies in Ukraine for 2022-2025”, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of 21 July 2021, №831-p.Aim of the paper. The article aims to reveal theoretical and conceptual approaches to the research of leadership in public authorities in the context of the tasks of scientific support for the implementation of the main goals of the “Strategy for Public Administration Reform in Ukraine for 2022-2025”.Paper main body. Summarizing various definitions, we can define leadership as a type of managerial interaction (in this case – between the leader and followers), based on the combination of different sources of power depending on a specific situation and aimed at motivating people to achieve common goals. In other words, leadership is the relationships of dominance and subordination, influence and direction in the system of interpersonal relations in the group, which lead to the intended goal. However, in socio-political life, the concept of “leader” is often associated with the concept of “manager”. Thereby, serious debates about the similarity or divergence of these concepts take place in the scientific community today. In particular, researchers are trying to reveal who is more required in a modern civil service – a manager, a leader, or a manager-leader? They also try to find out if a specialist can be an informal leader. If yes, how can a manager successfully use such a human resource then?Besides, the practice shows that a manager in public authorities is not always a leader, and a leader is not always a manager. It has also been proven that a manager with managerial skills, who exercised leadership, is more effective. Conclusions of the research and prospects for further studies. Leadership in public authorities is an understudied phenomenon that requires comprehensive research. Comparing the phenomena of leadership and governance within classical management and leadership, it can be argued that leadership involves the ability to lead employees to a common goal, to motivate them to want to do what is necessary.The way to an effective model of public administration management is the systematic development of leadership at all management levels.Development of innovative and service aspects of organizational culture and its management - this is the main task of leaders at all levels in public authorities in the context of the implementation of the “Strategy for Public Administration Reform until 2025”.