Why do Chinese state-owned enterprises routinely respond to central-level goals and policies in different ways, and why do their reform trajectories often vary significantly across firms and over time? This book introduces a leadership approach to studying the politics, process, and outcomes of economic reform in China's public sector. Using a series of in-depth case studies, Wendy Leutert analyses the exercise and effects of leadership in Chinese state-owned enterprises. She uncovers the 'intra-organizational politics of reform': the daily dynamics of cooperation and conflict between leaders and their subordinates inside public-sector organizations. She also identifies common tactics that Chinese state-owned enterprise leaders use to execute their agendas and ways their subordinates respond. Updating and expanding existing knowledge, this book highlights the growing global consequences of leadership in Chinese state-owned enterprises and why leadership remains vital for understanding China today.