Complementarity in politics-administration relationship: Interpersonal trust between political appointees and career public managers in state government

An examination of variables deemed fundamental to the complementary relationship between the political and administrative leaderships remains imperative discourse in the realm of scholarship. This study was premised on that assumption. It examined interpersonal trust as a fundamental anchor of harmonious and mutually respectful working relationship between the political and professional actors in government. Focusing on state government, a survey was carried out to establish the extent to which career managers perceive their relationships with political appointees as trustful. It further related the perceived levels of trust among career managers to the extent of professional discretion, participation, communication, and commitment. Two reform models were created for the purpose of comparative analysis regarding the implications of the contemporary radical changes in public management.;In the multivariate analysis, perceived level of interpersonal trust among career managers was found to be positively related with professional discretion, participative management, communication, and commitment. On the extent to which the variables manifest or predict interpersonal trust, the multiple linear regression model revealed that discretion and communication were the significant predictors. In-depth interviews conducted among a selected segment of the respondents complemented most of the findings from the quantitative analysis, particularly relative to the relationship between interpersonal trust and variables such as professional discretion, communication, and commitment. On the implications of the radical changes, a two-tailed t-test analysis revealed that career managers in the states that have adopted more radical management principles (Pro-political model) reported no significant difference on the issues of professional discretion, interpersonal trust, and commitment than their counterparts in the states that have adopted moderate management principles (Pro traditional-oriented model).;The study therefore re-echoed the need to initiate policy measures that would improve interpersonal trust by focusing on enhancing professional discretion, interpersonal communication, and participative management. Given the dynamics of today's socio-economic and political environment and the findings contained in the present study, it was concluded that the states currently considering adopting more radical measures regarding public management should exercise caution and look at the potential paradoxical implications particularly in the area of public service motivation.