Ledarskap ur ett ledningsstilsperspektiv : teambyggare, innovatörer, nätverkare och dirigenter

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study is threefold. Firstly it is to explore a style-oriented model for leadership which has proven to be valid empirically. Secondly the purpose is to study if there are any differences between the way managers view themselves compared to how their co-workers view them. Thirdly, the purpose of the study is to explore if the so called classical two-factor model of leadership, established in the forties by the Ohio School and Michigan researchers, is still valid. The two-factor model, consideration and structuring, has in later years been extended to a three-factor model after the work of Ekvall et al, who found that change orientation is a third factor to account for when it comes to describing leadership. The methods used are questionnaires and interviews as pre-studies and the construction of a 360°-instrument, FLIC (Feed back for Leaders in Co-operation). FLIC was constructed to measure leadership- and communication- styles within the frame of the style-oriented model. It consists of 68 items which form 6 leadership-styles and 3 communication-styles. This study is based on the analysis of the self ratings of 572 managers and their 3722 employees, on average almost 7 co-workers per manager. FLIC was distributed to the managers in different training programs in Sweden during the years of 1996 to 2000. The exploration of the material was performed using a data reduction method, factor analysis. The results show that the style-oriented model is valid and reliable. The results also show that the FLIC instrument is consistent and reliable. The operationally defined and described leadership-styles are valid and useful. The results also show that the ways managers describe themselves are very consistent with the ways their co-workers see them. Exceptions are that managers tend to overestimate their openness, their empathy, their ability to listen and their readiness to give praise and credit. Results also show that six factors account for a large amount of the variance in the material. These six factors form two groups: three are production-oriented and three are employee-oriented. The production-oriented factors are structuring (common to the classical factor), change-orientation (common to the factor that Ekvall et al found) and networking, which is a new factor. Networking means one-way communication, spending time on external events, getting to know people outside the office, acting as an ambassador and salesmen while building new relationships, all with the purpose to create new business opportunities. The three factors that are employee-oriented are labelled critical communication, empathy and praise. These three factors together form what can be described as ´consideration´ or teambuilding. A final conclusion is that from the six factors found, a tentative four-factor model to describe leadership behaviour can be presented: The confirmation of the already found three factors to account for leadership and the finding of a fourth factor: networking. The four factors can be described as four roles which are more or less obvious for different leaders: The team builder, the innovator, the networker and the conductor.