Slow Change at the Top: ‘Old Hands’ and ‘Accidental Executives’ in New South Wales Local Government

Smith-Ruig, T; Grant, B; Sheridan, A

Slow Change at the Top: ‘Old Hands’ and ‘Accidental Executives’ in New South Wales Local Government

Smith-Ruig, T Grant, B

Sheridan, A

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Australian Journal of Public Administration, 2016, 75 (1), pp. 89 - 99
Issue Date:: 2016-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Smith-Ruig, T	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Grant, B https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8055-6046	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Sheridan, A	en_US
dc.date.available	2020-05-25T19:25:21Z
dc.date.issued	2016-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Australian Journal of Public Administration, 2016, 75 (1), pp. 89 - 99	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0313-6647	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/36284
dc.description.abstract	© 2015 Institute of Public Administration Australia Scholars and practitioners alike have recognised that an increased role for women leaders in Australian local government would strengthen the sector, yet little research to date has examined the career paths of non-elected officials. This article combines the gender in organisations literature with career theory to examine the career paths of 16 general managers (GMs) in New South Wales. We found that half the participants had linear career paths based entirely within local government and half had boundaryless careers originating outside the sector. This second cohort consisted overwhelmingly of women. Nevertheless, a high incidence of happenstance characterised both career types. Several participants saw themselves pitted against a gendered (i.e. male) group of ‘old hands’ who were resistant to change being driven by ‘accidental executives’, a high proportion of whom were women. The findings have implications for a sector attempting to attract and retain skilled staff, particularly women.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Australian Journal of Public Administration	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1111/1467-8500.12160	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Political Science & Public Administration	en_US
dc.title	Slow Change at the Top: ‘Old Hands’ and ‘Accidental Executives’ in New South Wales Local Government	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	75	en_US
utslib.for	1605 Policy and Administration	en_US
utslib.for	14 Economics	en_US
utslib.for	15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services	en_US
utslib.for	16 Studies in Human Society	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)/lnstitute for Public Policy and Governance
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - IPPG - Institute for Public Policy and Governance
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	75	en_US

Abstract:

© 2015 Institute of Public Administration Australia Scholars and practitioners alike have recognised that an increased role for women leaders in Australian local government would strengthen the sector, yet little research to date has examined the career paths of non-elected officials. This article combines the gender in organisations literature with career theory to examine the career paths of 16 general managers (GMs) in New South Wales. We found that half the participants had linear career paths based entirely within local government and half had boundaryless careers originating outside the sector. This second cohort consisted overwhelmingly of women. Nevertheless, a high incidence of happenstance characterised both career types. Several participants saw themselves pitted against a gendered (i.e. male) group of ‘old hands’ who were resistant to change being driven by ‘accidental executives’, a high proportion of whom were women. The findings have implications for a sector attempting to attract and retain skilled staff, particularly women.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/36284