Leadership Development in the Public Sector: From Competencies to Contradictions

CALL FOR PAPERS

Leadership Development in the Public Sector: From Competencies to Contradictions

Journal: International Journal of Public Leadership
Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Submission Deadline: 1 September 2026

Key Information

Introduction

This special issue critically examines the current landscape of leadership development in the public sector by questioning existing frameworks, best practices, and underlying assumptions. It highlights how current literature often overlooks emerging theories and interdisciplinary insights, while also underestimating tensions between individual development and systemic constraints.

Despite significant investment in leadership programs, there remains limited theoretical and empirical evidence tailored specifically to public sector contexts. This issue aims to address these gaps by encouraging deeper and more rigorous inquiry.

Aim and Scope

The special issue aims to:

• Reassess existing leadership development paradigms

• Identify theoretical and empirical gaps

• Integrate interdisciplinary perspectives

• Provide evidence-based insights for research and practice

• Strengthen the foundation of public sector leadership development

Thematic Areas

Submissions are invited in areas including:

• Evidence and Effectiveness Gaps

• Training Program Assumptions and Implications

• Theoretical Underdevelopment

• Empirical and/or Contextual Blind Spots

• Measurement and Evaluation Limitations

• Practice-Embedded Learning

• Science-to-Practice Gap

• Post-Training Development

• Ethical Considerations in Development Design

• Future Directions in Public Sector Leadership

Guest Editor

Richard T. Marcy, University of Victoria, Canada — rtmarcy@uvic.ca

Submission Guidelines

Manuscripts should be submitted through the ScholarOne system.

• Follow the journal’s author guidelines

• Select the special issue during submission

• Ensure the manuscript is original and not under review elsewhere

Important Dates

Opening of submissions: 1 March 2026
Final submission deadline: 1 September 2026

How to Submit

Submit your manuscript via the ScholarOne platform by selecting the relevant special issue.

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