Considering the social pressures in recent years by changes in the Judiciary, the study aims to identify what makes a magistrate of the State Justice of Rio Grande do Sul is recognized as a leader by their peers. For both describes the functions of leadership and reflects on the leadership in the public sector. Were performed semi-structured interviews with 12 magistrates and the data analysis was through the content analysis technique. It was found that the recognition result from the election and choice to occupy important posts, the legal knowledge, the management capacity and interaction and mobilization skills. The practiced leadership finds barriers in the organizational structure, the difficulty of dialog and of cooperation between magistrates, and the lack of a specific training in leadership and management.
leadership; public sector; leader recognition; Judiciary
