Leadership Styles of European Mayors: How Much Have They Changed Over the Past 12 Years?

Abstract

The main purpose of this chapter is to trace persistence and change in leadership styles. Empirical findings show that mayoral leadership has changed considerably over the previous 12 years. Nowadays, the European mayors adopt an open and more cooperative exercise of power, instead of the authoritarian track. Strategic leadership predispositions increased substantially, and a visionary leadership style became the most common. Additional contextual and personal factors that were included in the last survey show that the correlation between the financial situation of the municipality and the leadership style was the strongest one. The increase in strategic predisposition and cooperative exercise of power seems reasonable, when taking into account the growing complexity of local governance, the ongoing fiscal stress and growing competition among cities: A demanding environment that puts the mayors under extreme pressure.