FRONTIERS IN LEADERSHIP RESEARCH

Urban Bergsten, GIH May 6, 2008

FRONTIERS IN LEADERSHIP RESEARCH

Urban Bergsten, Visiting ProfessorThe Swedish School of Sports and Health

Sciences, GIH


Leadership as a Relationship

Leadership and Group processes

Some critical perspectives of trends in organizational and leadership development


From mass production to client centered processes

Team- and process oriented leadership, less control and daily operating

Leadership – future, innovation, change, horizontal

Management – ”here and now” operations, stability, focus on product – economy – administration, vertical


Leadership – educational, relational, emotional

People-oriented Develops in interaction Affects others´way of thinking and

perspectives concerning what is desirable, possible and necessary


A bureaucratic,hierarchical way of acting

Internal focus Information, one-

way About something

and somebody Debate, right/wrong

•A client centered, interactional way of acting and thinking

•External focus

•CommunicationCommunication

•””You and I, here You and I, here and now”and now”

•Dialogue, tell me Dialogue, tell me more..more..


Rules, manuals Earning money Adm. Control ”Do things right” Blaming others Fishes in straight

rows according to size, color, not moving

•Vision, values, ideasVision, values, ideas•Solving problemsSolving problems•Develop competenceDevelop competence•””do the right things”do the right things”

•Own responsibilityOwn responsibility

•””..lobsters in a basket ..lobsters in a basket moving all the time moving all the time within the basketwithin the basket”.”.


about nothing

about something

about somebody

YOU and I, HERE and NOW

Organizational competence IOrganizational competence ICommunication skillsCommunication skills


Organizational competence IIFeedback (give and receive)

”kill”

defend

explain

try to understand


Organizational competence IIIThe importance of handling borders

Time

Decision

Integrity

Language, focus, attention


Leadership as a concern for the leader

Leadership as a dynamic process where leaders and non-leaders interact

Traditional leadership research too quantitative, too descriptive, too a-theoretical, based mainly on empirical data and difficult to implement practically

Research concerning leadershipResearch concerning leadership


Research continued

One perspective to see the leader as a person with personality traits, assuming leadership talents from birth rather than as a consequence of training and development

Hundreds of studies show no relationship between personality traits and effective leadership performance (Yukl 1998)

New focus: from selection to training


Common characteristics of everyday leadership

New tasks continuously fall into the lap of the leader and therefore you seldom finish what you started.

Half of all assignments have a duration of less than nine minutes.

Only one tenth of the work tasks has a duration of more than one hour.

Focus upon operative action and to act upon the latest information available


Granström (2007) and Haikola (1999)

The leader is formed by the group

Leadership is a consequence of psychodynamic processes, both conscious as well as unconscious.

Authority – mandate

”The New Leadership Approach”- the management of Meaning: basic values, norms, culture, internal/external meaning.


Leadership and Gender

Support for ”the glass-ceiling” theory. Too few women leaders to describe a female

leadership style. Women leaders become ”tokens”, i.e. represent

women generally, have to perform better to show competence, but not too much better…(Kanter 1996).

The obstacles, not women's ambitions but perceived powerlessness concerning organizational structures (Wahl 1992).


ControlControlTop-bottomTop-bottom

InclusiInclusionon

In-outIn-out

OpennessOpennessclose-distantclose-distant

The FIRO Theory (Schutz 1958)

Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation


Phases in a working group (Bion) ”Basic assumptions”

task task task task

A)

B)

Working phase

Dependency phase

Flight phase

Fight phase

Leader Group member


Reflections on the new trends of leadership

Doubts that the shift in leadership doctrines has taken place, really.

The message has been understood as rhetorics but not in practice.

Critical views concerning teams as the answer to most problems.

To perform leadership by visions, ideals etc. can be seen as a manipulative way to occupy the minds, values and convictions, not the actions.


Reflections continued

A risk that very tight company cultures prevent divergent and creative thinking.

A transition from external control to internal, from normative to symbolic control.

The control is performed by the employees themselves, by the team and colleagues.

Team performance and team bonuses increase the control.


Reflections continued

Electronic control more and more common.

Different types of control tend to interact with, rather than exclude each other.

The ”Best-sellers” within the field often refer to ”Best Practice”, based on few scientific studies.

Due to weak theoretical basis there is a risk that one fad follows the other. ”Old truths in new packages”.


Critical perspectives on ”The new Leadership (Alvesson 2006)

Leadership often deals with grand but empty talk and self images full of fantasies.

Ideas and recipes become quickly out of fad, so new trends can be introduced, at least new titles and terms.

Change fanatism often prevents authentic change.

The devotion of news (Faucault 1984)


Critical perspectives continued

All surveys, employee satisfaction and customer relations etc are controls.

Patience – to hold on to projects and fulfill endeavors, rarely promotes your career.

Goal setting and visions can have ceremonial character. If you accept them too seriously, you may get in trouble.

Many leaders gain legitimacy by avoiding deviation (team, coach, mentor, the PEAB-university, search, head-hunting, kick-off etc).


Toward the Future (Schein 1996)

The new culture requires collective learning. From rationality, linearity and stimuli-

response to emotions, irrationality, intrinsic and sometimes unconscious behavior.

Supply energy and motivation to learn. Willingness to involve others. Emotional strength to manage anxiety. Permit and encourage leadership to flourish

throughout the organization.


Views on future research concerning leadership

Less simple casual relationships. Less cross-sectional studies at isolated

occasions. Less questionnaires and description as an

attempt to estimate ”objective” dimensions. More qualitative and longitudinal studies

based on interviews and participatory observation. Try to follow the leadership over time and space.

More studies of ”leaders in context”.


Future research continued

Action research in collaboration with the organization with participation of researchers, students, union leaders and employees.

Striving for results and findings both scientifically and useful in practice.

Interactive methodology. Involve both subordinates and

superiors in the context.


Thank You for your interest and attention!

Time for a number of reflective teams!

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