John Mayne’s Contribution to Results-Based Management Thinking: A Leadership Legacy

Abstract

John Mayne wrote extensively on results-based management. While his thinking evolved, some key tenets remained. He emphasized the importance of leadership in managing for results. In this article, we elicit his understanding of sound results-based management and the role of leadership. Mayne argued that a salient task for leaders was building and sustaining an evaluative culture, wherein the organization uses and learns from performance information. The authors analyzed his recommendations for leaders and grouped them into four different types of leadership roles. These roles concern setting a results course of expectations, managing operations, managing change, and managing people and systems.