Good leaders can be found in every successful organization, regardless of the sector it belongs to. Organizations within particular sectors differ from each other, as do the employees. Some theoreticians claim that good leaders are born, some think that they develop through education and experience, whereas others advocate a combination of the two views. This paper researches the questions whether public and private sector leaders are fundamentally different and what it is that makes them different. It deals with the manner and style of leadership in the public and private sectors in Slovenia and draws comparisons with similar researches that have been done abroad. The work presents theoretical starting points that include the area of leadership, leaders’ characteristics in both sectors and a summary of researches from abroad. It features three methods of work: descriptive, inductive and the method of compilation. The research part of the paper is based on an own research that studies behavioural differences between public and private sector leaders on the basis of a questionnaire. The statistical part of the paper makes use of descriptive statistics, frequency distribution and Cronbach’s alpha. The results of the research on decision making of public and private sector leaders show that both have the same leadership autonomy. Public sector leaders have less right to discretion than private sector leaders. At the same time, public sector leaders focus more on rules and procedures and believe they have less freedom in terms of administration. Private sector leaders, on the other hand, are more result-oriented. The research will help understand the manners of decision making, the obstacles encountered on the way and the chosen leadership styles of public and private sector leaders.
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