Perttu Salovaara from Leader-Centricity Toward Leadership
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PERTTU SALOVAARA FROM LEADER-CENTRICITY TOWARD LEADERSHIP - A HERMENEUTIC NARRATIVE APPROACH ACADEMIC DISSERTATION To be presented with the permission of the School of Management of the University of Tampere for public defence in the PINNI LS B1096 Auditorium, Kanslerinrinne 1, Tampere, on October 28th, 2011 at 12 o'clock UNIVERSITY OF Tampere From leader-centricity toward leadership Perttu Salovaara FROM LEADER-CENTRICITY TOWARD LEADERSHP – a hermeneutic narrative study Academic dissertation University of Tampere School of Management Copyright ©2011 Tampere University Press and the author Sales Bookshop TAJU Street address: Kalevantie 5 P.O.Box 617 33014 University of Tampere tel. 040 190 9800 fax (03) 3551 7685 [email protected] www.uta.fi/taju http://granum.uta.fi Layout and DTP: Maaret Kihlakaski Cover: Mikko Reinikka ISBN 978-951-44-8582-4 (nid.) Acta Electronica Universitatis Tamperensis 1123 ISBN 978-951-44-8583-1 (pdf) ISSN 1456-954X http://acta.uta.fi Tampereen Yliopistopaino Oy – Juvenes Print Tampere 2011 Contents Abstract ............................................................................................. 7 Acknowledgements ............................................................................ 9 1. Prologue: Why to study stories on leadership? ............................... 12 2. Introduction .................................................................................. 17 2.1 Context of study ............................................................... 17 2.2 Empirical materials ............................................................ 23 2.3 Research question .............................................................. 28 2.4 Outline of the thesis .......................................................... 30 3. Methodology ................................................................................. 33 3.1 Phenomenology ................................................................ 34 3.2 Hermeneutic touch ........................................................... 39 3.2.1 The Hermeneutic Circle .......................................... 39 3.2.2 The role of prejudices .............................................. 41 3.2.3 Fusion of horizons ................................................... 45 3.2.4 Embodied hermeneutics .......................................... 48 3.3 The Fieldpath Method – off the beaten track .................... 52 3.3.1 The Fieldpath Method in theory .............................. 52 3.3.2 Walking The Fieldpath ............................................ 60 3.3.3 Self-reflection during the Fieldpath ......................... 70 3.4 Discussion on methodology: Process ontology, narratives, and hermeneutics .................. 75 4. Theory: Leadership instead of leader-centricity .............................. 83 4.1 Evolution of leadership theories ........................................ 85 4.1.1 Leader- and follower-centric approaches .................. 85 4.1.2 Situational and shared leadership ............................. 88 4.1.3 New art of leadership research ................................. 92 4.2 On qualitative methodology in leadership research ............ 97 4.3 Discussion: Distinctive elements of the new art of leadership research ........................................................ 101 5. The leadership routines ................................................................. 106 5.1 Thematic analysis and why it was used .............................. 106 5.2 Forming the Leadership Code ........................................... 110 5.3 Two leadership orientations: knowing and intervening ....... 114 5.3.1 Knowing ................................................................. 114 5.3.2 Intervening ............................................................. 120 5.4 The SEBU Leadership Code as a social construction ......... 127 6. Vignettes ....................................................................................... 128 6.1 What are vignettes and why they are used ......................... 128 6.2 Vignette One: Entering the training .................................. 130 6.3 Vignette two: Outdoor exercise ......................................... 140 6.4 Vignette three: Exploring conditions for personal change .. 156 6.5 Discussion on vignettes ..................................................... 171 7. Explaining transformation: the core constructs .............................. 179 7.1 What are core constructs and why they are used ................ 179 7.2 Incompleteness ................................................................. 183 7.3 Embodied ......................................................................... 198 7.4 Artistic .............................................................................. 212 7.5 Summary of findings: Weak Leadership ............................ 219 8. Discussion and findings ................................................................. 223 8.1 Contributions to leadership research ................................. 223 8.2 Methodological contributions ........................................... 233 8.3 Limitations of the study .................................................... 238 8.4 Suggestions for further research ......................................... 248 References ......................................................................................... 256 Abstract FROM LEADER-CENTRICITY TOWARD LEADERSHIP - a hermeneutic narrative approach Perttu Salovaara The present study explores how the participants in a leadership training programme experience their learning path. The black box of training, as it has been called, is opened by searching for what kind of meanings the training participants attach to leadership and how they apply their new learning insights in practice. This study argues that there is a clear distinction between leader- centric approaches and leadership. Leadership is here redefined as a social and organizational quality and not as an accomplishment of a single person. Drawing on empirical materials the study illustrates that leader- ship is not only about success stories and great achievements; instead of maintaining the traditional heroic leadership image, the analysis shows that leadership learning includes side-steps, negative learning and failures as well. Methodologically the study combines phenomenological, herme- neutic and narrative traditions. It creates a method called The Fieldpath Method, according to which the researcher proceeds with an attitude of wondering and wandering. The aim is to retain an openness to the phenomenon of leadership without being bound to any specific prejudices or predefined concepts. Perttu Salovaara – The Fieldpath journey advanced in practice through three stages of analysis. First the materials are grouped into thematical units that, taken together, create the company’s “Leadership Code”. In the second stage the materials are presented through vignettes, as glimpses of real- ity. The vignettes reveal that the whole story of learning is not very straightforward or linear, and they thus deconstruct the Code. The analysis of vignettes leads to the insight that there is something missing in the Code. In the third stage the material analysis leads to the creation of core constructs that give meaning to and enhance the inner unity of the text. The missing elements are core constructs: in order to get from leader- centricity to leadership, the core constructs incompleteness, embodied and artistic are missing from the discourse. The findings of the study imply that leadership learning is often restricted to leader-centric views, even if it is in practical terms a social task. For learning, little if any external knowledge, but much more experiential learning and embodied attachment to one’s own learning than is usually implicated. To distinguish between the terms leader and leadership turns into the most important quality. This research shows the importance of widening the methodo- logical means for studying leadership. Purely rational accounts of leadership are increasingly being expanded by the aesthetic leadership approaches that include embodied and emotional elements as relevant sources of knowledge. – From leader-centricity toward leadership Acknowledgments “The most important things you cannot see with your eyes, but only with your heart.” First of all, big hugs and thanks go to my wife and my children. Lyyli and Tyyne, you are such a fun and joy. And my wife Anna, without your patience and endurance, and your heart, indeed, this endeavour would have been impossible to me. Despite my occasional mental absence and irritations, I think we did this fine. I could not have completed this work without the help of my academic friends either. I had the great pleasure and privilege to have professor Arja Ropo as the dedicated godmother of this dissertation providing the necessary help when needed. It is through our discussions that I got a view of the researcher’s work. Another person who helped me enormously is Erika Sauer – to Erika I owe great thanks for being there when the journey led into dead-ends and paths that became too narrow. Your creative insights have helped me to discover and maintain my own voice, and I’m awfully grateful for all the conversations and phone calls we have had during this work. There are numerous other people from academic circles I want to acknowledge for supporting me along this journey. Professor Päivi Eriksson set this project in motion and Nina Koivunen was one of my