Planners’ perceptions of the influence of leadership on coordinating plans

Abstract

Based on interviews with 92 planners in five Canadian city-regions, we explore planners’ perceptions of the ways that leadership affects their ability to coordinate land-use planning activities in the context of sometimes divergent or conflicting priorities and policies. Practitioners describe conditions where transformational leadership -- with organizational leaders building followership around values set by political leaders – has become common, and planners have often settled into managerial roles as agent of municipal councils. Planners identify two other roles they may play: as facilitator of communication and collaboration, and as leader for smart growth strategies. The evidence suggests that planners align their role expectations not only with preferred theories in the discipline, but also with the leadership regimes they encounter.