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Parks and Recreation

At the beginning of this chapter, we talked about Leslie Knope, a midlevel government bureaucrat in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Let’s take a look at Leslie’s leadership and decision-making skills in light of what we’ve learned in this chapter.

  • At Pawnee Town Hall, there is a clear hierarchy of legitimate power. As deputy director, Leslie’s power is subordinate to Ron’s, but in many ways, their relationship is an example of shared leadership: Ron’s commitment to “doing as little as possible,” as well as his genuine affection for Leslie and his respect for her work ethic, means that he leaves her in charge of pretty much everything. But although Leslie takes responsibility for the day-to-day running of the department, decision-making power still lies largely with Ron.
  • Leslie has an achievement-oriented style of leadership. She identifies a goal and then does everything in her power to reach it. Her commitment, enthusiasm, and optimism are infectious, motivating everyone around her—from her apathetic coworkers to local businesses and other departments—to help pitch in to make it happen.
  • In addition to her legitimate power, Leslie has a substantial amount of referent power—she is as committed to behaving ethically as she is to providing services to the people of Pawnee. Her ethics and character inspire the police to work for free during the Harvest Festival.