I projektet System för ledarskapsutveckling har forskare vid Jönköping University i partnerskap med ett tiotal svenska organisationer och genom en nationell telefonintervju med drygt 1 300 privata och offentliga verksamheter fördjupat kunskapen om hur ledarskapsutveckling organiseras, uppfattas och omsätts i praktiken. Resultatet i denna rapport bygger på ett varierat material i form av dokument, intervjuer och workshops.

Genom projektet har vi fördjupat vår förståelse av att ledarskapsutveckling kräver systematik och integration. Det handlar om att arbeta medvetet och långsiktigt med olika arbetssätt som är kopplade till organisationens syfte, samtidigt som vi reflekterar över de antaganden och idéer som påverkar utformningen. Ett ledarskapsutvecklingssystem omfattar de arbetssätt som främjar utveckling av ledarskap anpassat efter verksamhetens syfte, kontext och föränderliga behov.

I rapporten beskriver sju organisationer sin syn på ledarskap och hur de arbetar för att utveckla detsamma. Genom deras egna ord får vi en inblick i hur ett system för ledarskapsutveckling kan se ut i praktiken. Särskilt markeras att ledarskapsutveckling måste skräddarsys utifrån organisatoriska förutsättningar och individuella behov. De aktiviteter och metoder som används måste kontinuerligt testas, förstärkas eller fasas ut beroende på relevans. Hellre hålla fast vid en genomtänkt metod än att ständigt byta.

Den nationella kartläggningen ger en översikt av vilka aktiviteter som är mest använda och till vem de vänder sig. Fördjupande analyser visar att de organisationer som har starkast finansiella resultat värderar fem verksamhetsnära metoder främst; chefsmöten, utvecklingssamtal, teamutveckling och tillfälliga uppdrag.

Slutligen presentera vi en uppsättning framgångsprinciper, frågor och verktyg för att arbeta mer systematiskt med ledarskapsutveckling. Vår förhoppning är att de ska fungera som en kompass för ett mer nyfiket och reflekterande arbetssätt och öppnar vägen mot en hållbar och framgångsrik ledarskapsutveckling. 

A leadership development system (LDS) encompasses all methods and practices used in an organisation to train and develop effective leadership. However, the underlying assumptions upon which such a system is based are often overlooked, and the workplace as a learning site is generally under-investigated, which may cause an unreflected LDS. Using a social representations theory approach, this study explores such underlying assumptions, i.e. social representations of leadership and leadership development, among 19 employees of an organisation with a non-hierarchical business structure. To collect data, the free association method was used to reveal underlying social representations shaping the company’s current LDS. Through a transdisciplinary framing and customised design of work-integrated learning (WIL) among the employees (N = 57), the study also develops an exploratory model for facilitating the development of a deliberate LDS. The results show that uncovering social representations supports professional learning in work, which helps create an LDS that is based on articulated awareness. The study further shows that the process of uncovering hidden values, ideas, and perspectives can support a context-relevant and customised WIL curriculum for professional learning and cultivate a deliberate and purposeful approach to leadership development.

Effective leadership development is crucial for high-performing organizations, but the questions of what methods, models, and theories to include in leadership development initiatives and how to best organize development interventions can leave professionals confused. We propose a systems approach that explains leadership development practices in an organizational context. A leadership development system encompasses all practices offered by an organization in which individuals engage with the purpose of enhancing leadership capacity to advance organizational objectives. To understand crucial components of the system as well as their defining features and how they interact, we propose a reflective theoretical framework for leadership development. Professionals can use the framework to assess their organization’s current leadership development system, identify areas for improvement, and systematically evolve the system to better support organizational objectives. We argue that that a systems approach transcends isolated leadership development programs, promoting a more holistic, context-sensitive, and strategically aligned method for building leadership capacity. Jag förslår att dessa inte anges i abstract utan bara i cover letter och i portalen där det skickas in. Är inte detta teoretiska bidrag underförstått ovan? This study offers three main contributions to the literature. First, our theoretical framework supports addressing leadership development as a system within organizations, moving beyond individual or group development in training programs. Second, we introduce six essential pedagogical questions to help professionals understand leadership development as a system. Third, our framework provides a road map for improving leadership development systems.

This study explores the relationship between organizational leadership identity, defined as "who we are" and "what we value related to leadership", and leadership development practices in five Swedish companies. Through the analysis of their narratives, the study reveals five distinct organizational leadership identities, ranging from individual leadership excellence to collaborative self-leadership. These identities significantly influence the shaping of a leadership development system (LDS) in practice. The study highlights three critical aspects—coherence, continuity, and comprehensiveness—that define the interdependency between leadership identity and an LDS. A closer linkage creates high interdependency, resulting in a stronger and more effective system, while weaker linkages reduce this interdependency and its potential to support organizational objectives and manage change. This research challenges traditional, linear models of leadership development, emphasizing the interaction and interconnectedness of practices within an organized "place". This place serves as a site of integration, activation, and interconnection between people, things, and experiences. By integrating concepts of organizational identity, historical context, and values, the study provides a more holistic theoretical framework for understanding how effective leadership is developed within organizations.

Collective creativity in organizations is generally considered to involve the convergence of divergent perspectives into a synthesis. While research has identified interactions that enable convergence, divergent perspectives are often taken for granted, and we know less about how they are fostered. To provide a more holistic understanding, this study examines the dynamic interplay between divergent and convergent interactions through a learning lens. It integrates insights from paradox research and collective learning theory with ethnographic research on a large art and theater project. In this project, characters, scenes, set designs, and organizational practices evolved through two interdependent cycles of collective learning. Through consensus learning, individuals incorporated each other's ideas, resulting in interwoven collective expressions that reinforced the norm of collaboration and thereby promoted convergence. Through conflict learning, individuals asserted their own ideas, resulting in more fragmented collective expressions that reinforced the norm of autonomy and thereby promoted divergence. This paradoxical and organic learning process encompassed cognitive, material, and affective dimensions. The findings suggest that accepting fragmentation is essential for fostering divergent perspectives, while a culture of dialogue plays a critical role in synthesizing these perspectives.

In the leadership development literature, there is a strong consensus for the value of taking a tailored approach to leadership development. Yet, the literature is surprisingly silent about what such tailoring actually involves. We review the leadership development literature through a didactical lens and develop a process model of didactic tailoring and leadership development. Our emerging conceptual model subsume the existent but oftentimes scattered research into the tailoring of leadership development programs into an overarching organizing framework. Our model helps identify the underlying processes involved in didactic tailoring of leadership development programs. It also articulate how these processes combine to predict leadership development. Finally, we outline a step-by-step guide informing how to conduct didactic tailoring. Our theoretical model provides valuable guidance for scholars and practitioners interested in designing, executing, evaluating, reporting, and reviewing leadership development programs.

Background As the older population grows rapidly, the incidence of falls and fall-related injuries is rising, underscoring the urgent need for systematic, evidence-based fall prevention.Objective This study aimed to examine the implementation of the World Falls Guidelines for falls prevention in a region of Sweden, with particular attention to the implications of anchoring and developing a knowledge support tool within policy and practice.Methods A participatory research design was employed, involving five diverse settings: primary care, hospital care, homecare, municipal social services and pensioners' organizations. Data collection included workshops, field notes and written material. Early implementation processes focused on anchoring and developing, aligning with the i-PARIHS framework. The data were analysed using a framework analysis.Results The anchoring process revealed a lack of managerial support at the appropriate organizational level, which hindered cross-sectoral collaboration. Further, the developing process refined the content structure to better address the needs of both professionals and older adults. Seven themes were mapped by using i-PARIHS framework: (i) Innovation-adoption and adaptation, risk assessment; (ii) Recipients-intermediate managerial decision-making; (iii) Context-collaboration and resources, documentation and information sharing and accessibility and outreach and (iv) Facilitation-project or process.Conclusion Successful implementation requires anchoring and organizational alignment across all levels, with particular emphasis on the engagement of intermediate management. While the primary challenges emerge at the organizational (meso) level, they are closely interconnected with both micro-level and macro-level influences. Coordinated efforts across all levels are therefore essential for effective implementation strategies.

The significance of leadership for organizational success is widely recognized; however, there are numerous perspectives on the best way to develop leadership. The aim of this study was to explore the factors that professionals collectively identify as crucial for enhancing leadership development in organizations. The research questions addressed are: What key principles guide well-informed decisions in organizing leadership development practices? What generic aspects are related to these principles?

Employing a participatory research approach, we collected and analyzed data in collaboration with professionals working with leadership development in 17 municipalities and 10 regions in Sweden. The data were gathered by recording collaborative work during workshops, analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and interpreted using paradox theory. Our main theoretical contribution consists of nine key principles that guide well-informed decisions in organizing leadership development practices. These principles are structured within key questions that go beyond perspectives on the best way to develop leadership, addressing inevitable paradoxical tensions. Additionally, we identify three generic aspects for managing these tensions and enhancing leadership development practices in organizations: systematic deliberation, integration and continuous improvement. Based on these findings, we present two practical tools to help professionals strengthen leadership development as a cohesive support system. Rather than seeking a single best curriculum or framework, professionals can be supported by aligning the responses to Why? What? How and when? Who? and What works?, always related to Where? and by continuously applying systematic deliberation, integrating leadership development with business strategies and HR activities and pursuing continuous improvement.