Principles of responsibility in varying leadership contexts

Abstract

In this study, the understanding of the principles of responsibility in leadership between manager and employee is advanced. Through a qualitative case study approach the following research questions are answered: What principles of responsibility do managers and employees perceive as significant for leadership in the manager-employee relationship? What social contexts in the relationship call for the principles to occur? The topic was studied in two executive MBA groups which are our cases. The participants in these special groups have a lot of experience of leadership as both leader and employee. So, they can offer real life data from which results can be built. Additionally, such group provides an opportunity to the participants to reflect various leadership incidents in their career that is useful for study purposes. The case study approach makes it possible to learn more of the complexity of leadership than for example surveying a representative sample. A sample of 22 people were studied. A critical incident technique was applied to produce the data, and a content analysis of the data was carried out. Conceptualization that shows the principles of responsibility in leadership − fairness, empowerment, openness, trust, and caring − and their contextual nature in the manager-employee relationship was formed. This study contributes to diminishing the distinction commonly made in the leadership literature between leader-centred and relational-centred approaches.