Public sector managers are soft-hearted, indecisive do-gooders who operate at a snail’s pace and need consensus to do anything; private sector managers are ruthless, money driven and out to further their own careers. Stereotypes of business and public sector leaders abound — but how true are the caricatures?

A personality study of 13,200 managers in business and local government, conducted by East Sussex County Council and t-three consulting, aimed to find out what made leaders in the two sectors tick.

Responses indicated that local government managers are more altruistic and show greater concern towards others than their private sector counterparts. The latter, by contrast, were more outcome-focused and self willed; more able to think independently. They were also more comfortable with confrontation, whereas local government managers prefer a consultative approach.

“If you are low on confrontation you have very good political skills, which are an advantage in local government,” says Jennifer Shipside, a director at t-three consulting. But avoiding confrontation could mean managers failing to carry out robust performance reviews or failing to hold people to account for not delivering, she cautions.

The public sector could learn from private sector managers’ superior networking skills, Shipside says. Business leaders tended to be more sociable, outgoing and optimistic at work than council managers, who were more cautious, preferring to build longstanding relationships with a few trusted colleagues.

But the bond of public service is an asset that the private sector cannot imitate, t-three found. “Public sector managers are passionate about what they do and have a real sense of service. Most business managers would give their eye teeth to have those common values.”

EMILY FORD

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