Research On Expert Leadership

What state governance matters most are system and how to choose and employ people. The contemporary state governance system contains the administrative system, economic system and social system as a whole. China today is deepening the all-round reform, so the system is in great need of innovation and change. In addition, national construction and development needs to be adjusted from abnormality to normality. Meanwhile, state governance is being extended from administrative field to broader ones. During the time, choosing and employing people, especially professionals are more important. Professionals’involving in state governance is not only a historical phenomenon, but also an indispensable form, even the basic one in the crisis of administrative management. However, we don’t know systematically, how professionals, especially experts, participate in administration and discussion of national affairs, not to mention theory construction, which is far below the need of country and the expectation of society.One of the innovations of this study is to explore a preliminary model of expert leadership in our country by conducting the theoretical research in foreign expert leadership. The other is to throw light on the growing path, behaviors and roles of Professor Lin Muxi by a case study, content analysis and interview. Twelve leadership behaviors of Professor Lin Muxi are extracted, i.e., publishing papers in professional journals, charging and participating in scientific research, expressing vision by publishing books, making professional lectures at home and abroad, giving proposals and suggestions to the government, making statements at all levels of conferences, writing articles for non-professional newspapers and journals, accepting media reporters’interview on professional issues, writing preface or comments for publications, speaking as a representative,winning awards as well as personal stories being reported by the media. On this base and international authoritative leadership dictionary, the researcher analyzes carefully the practice mechanism of Professor Lin Muxi’s expert leadership from three aspects, that is, influence, encouragement and enability according to 34 projects, obtaining his model, growth factors and interaction of EL and filling in the theory blank of this field. Among three categories of leadership, influence has the greater effect than encouragement and enability, but the boundary is not clear, often characterized by mutual fusion and promotion. Nine factors leading to EL are found, i.e. good family’s cultivation and environment, life planning, policy support, expert guidance, academic position, responsibility and service, leadership experience, problem driven and industry practice. These factors promote and rely on each other. Friendly family atmosphere and good family education is the gene of his success. Earlier and a clear picture of his life lay the foundation. Policy support like the strategy of rejuvenating country by science and education is the safeguard. Expert guidance and accurate academic position are boosters. Rich leadership experience and the sense of responsibility and service are like one wing, the other is the problem based solutions and industry practice. All these external and internal factors interact, contributing to the form and development of Professor Lin Muxi’s expert leadership. Eventually, compared to Goodall’s Expert leadership Theory, one similarity and five differences are found. The similarity is that what China and foreign theory of expert leadership have in common is the good character and charisma, which are indispensable.Five differences are as follows. Firstly, our expert leadership is obviously affected by policies. Secondly, the outstanding characteristic of expert leadership is that experts make decisions without succumbing to power and never follow blindly.Thirdly, expert leadership is closely related to local features. Fourthly, our expert leadership has remarkable influence on government and society. Last but not least, the order of expert and leadership has generational difference.The contribution of this study is that Professor Lin Muxi’s EL model is found out using the method of content analysis, during which the footprint of the history and impact of expert leadership is traced and the internal and external factors since the reform and opening policy are illuminated. Although this study is only a case, it’s typical and epochal which will definitely contribute to further study of state governance and professional leadership.