LEADERS´ DEVELOPMENT AND CORPORATE CULTURE

Year 2011, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 341 - 349, 01.12.2011

Susanna Göransson Tom Hagström Tomas Backström

Abstract

You are not born to be a leader but can develop into one. A number of
developmental theories describe the way adults can develop towards more
complex and differentiated ways of under-standing themselves and the world,
measured e.g. by a research-based test, the Washington University Sentence
Completion Test (WUSC).
A case study of a highly competitive bank in Sweden with a humanistic corporate
culture was conducted through a multimethod study including the WUSC test. The
aim was to investigate in which ways this kind of culture, where learning is
considered as a part of everyday work and employees actively participate in the
business planning process, is related to development.
Results show that the vast majority of employees (including managers) represent a
specific developmental level where people still are task- rather than goaloriented.
The developmental level of managers were important for how their
leadership was thought of by employees and for how successful they were in
involving employees in the business planning process. Thus developmental
aspects seem to be important for maintaining and further developing a culture
that supports learning.

Keywords

Leadership, Development, Adult Development, Corporate Culture, Banking,

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