Reinventing government: Does leadership make the difference?

This article examines the role of leadership in the "reinvention of government" in nine federal offices, four located in the Veterans Administration and five in the Defense Department The research for the article was done in two phases. In phase one, the relationship between organizational culture and reinvention was explored it was discovered during this phase that the leader was critical to reinvention efforts. In phase two, the leaders were categorized according to Bennis's four leadership competencies. The research found that organizational culture facilitated or hampered reinvention and leaders influenced the organizational outcomes in both reinvention and related performance measures, most likely via the organizational culture.