Trapped in the hierarchy: the craft of Dutch city managers

Figures & data

Table 1. Summarizing management practices.

Direction	Practices
Up	– Advising political office holders – Negotiating democratic legitimacy for the organization’s output – Fostering a productive collaboration with political office holders.
Down	– Building organizational capacity – Transforming the organization – Managing strategy vs. going concerns
Out	– Interact with societal partners outside the administration – Meta-governance

Table 2. Case selection.

City manager	Case 1	Case 2	Case 3	Case 4
City size	150,000+	150,000+	80,000+	600,000+
Age category	50–59	60–69	40–49	60–69
Education	Law, public administration	Law, public administration	Law	Law
Years as city manager	5–9	10–19	0–4	10–19
In studied city	0–4	10–19	0–4	0–4
Tenure in studied city	0–4	10–19	10–19	0–4
Organization full-time employee	1,500–2,000	1,000–1,500	500–1,000	10,000–15,000

Table 3. Coding scheme agenda analysis.

Code	Subcode	Explanation
Up	Collective	Meetings with two or more political office holders, i.e. mayor, aldermen
	Individual	Meetings with an individual political office holder
Down	Direct Report	Meetings with employees who directly report to the city manager, i.e. directors, unit heads
	Executive Assistant	Meetings with executive assistants or entourage
	Other	Meetings with other employees, tours, and desk work
Out	Local	Activities in/for local networks
	Regional	Activities in/for regional networks
	National	Activities in/for national networks
Social		Attending social events such as diners or drinks, in a professional capacity
Travel		Time reserved for travelling
Other		Miscellaneous activities (e.g. giving a guest lecture at a university)

Table 4. Craft of city managers.

Direction	Core of craft	Influences	Allies	Competencies
Up	Adviser-in-chief	– Experience – Standing	– Executive board advisers	– Political antennae (’t Hart and Wille 2006) – Political astuteness (Hartley et al. 2015) – Empathy (FWNB) – Dienstwissen (Lassman and Speirs [original 1918] 1994)
Down	Organizational stewardship	– Position	– Directors – Entourage	– Analytical skills (FWNB) – Public performance (FWNB) – Discipline (FWNB)
Out	Boundary spanning	– Membership – Social capital	– Colleague city managers	– Diplomacy (Rhodes 2016) – Orchestration (Bartelings et al. 2017)

Figure 1. Allocation of time in city manager’s diaries.

Hart, P., and A. Wille. 2006. “Ministers and Top Officials in the Dutch Core Executive: Living Together, Growing Apart?” Public Administration 84 (1): 121–146.

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Hartley, J., J. Alford, O. Hughes, and S. Yates. 2015. “Public Value and Political Astuteness in the Work of Public Managers: The Art of the Possible.” Public Administration 93 (1): 195–211.

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Lassman, P., and R. Speirs. [original 1918] 1994. Weber: Political Writings. Cambridge texts in the history of political thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Rhodes, R. 2016. “Recovering the Craft of Public Administration.” Public Administration Review 76 (4): 638–647.

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Bartelings, J., J. Goedee, J. Raab, and R. Bijl. 2017. “The Nature of Orchestrational Work.” Public Management Review 19 (3): 342–360.

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