The thesis concerns how leadership and gender are constructed in organisations, through the management language, interactions and context. A particular focus is placed on the relations between men, masculinity and leadership. The theoretical starting point is a doing gender perspective, where the terms leadership and gender are understood as processes; that gender and leadership is done in an organisational situation. Through a processual perspective different levels are linked in the analysis of construction of gender and leadership; society, organisational and individual levels, expressed in terms of structure, symbols, interactions and individual sense making. Masculinity research is also a theoretical area of importance for the thesis, with analysis matrices for the understanding of construction of masculinity between men, as well relationships between masculinity and technology and masculinity and leadership respectively. The empirical data consists of interviews and observations of managers at three different organisational levels at the factory of an industrial engineering firm. Leadership stands out in the empirical data as an extended and male, dedicated as well as uniform story. In discussions of gender the differences between women and men are preferentially described, where above all opinions about women’s gender-typical characteristics are expressed. The opinions are to a greater extent gender-stereotypic. These dominating patterns are however challenged in different ways, through the managers different ways of positioning themselves towards respectively leadership and gender, expressed through their desire to limit the work and reasoning that distances itself from gender aspects being a deciding factor for leadership; through policies on fundamental values and equality as well as through a younger, female manager. From a starting point in the dominating pattern the term leadership masculinities is developed: locally confirmed discourses and practices where leadership and masculinity meet in reciprocal interactions. These leadership masculinities are represented in the empirical material by The Son of the District, The Father, The Dedicated and The Feminine. The last leadership masculinity captures something of the variation and contrast to the dominating pattern which is also found in the material, for example as family and relationship orientation at both a policy and practice level. In the thesis it is discussed in conclusion how reproduction and change, uniformity of pattern and variation appear in parallel in the data – there are gaps in the pattern that can be perceived as opportunities for change of gender relationships and leadership practice.

<p>The thesis concerns how leadership and gender are constructed in organisations, through the management language, interactions and context. A particular focus is placed on the relations between men, masculinity and leadership. The theoretical starting point is a doing gender perspective, where the terms leadership and gender are understood as processes; that gender and leadership is done in an organisational situation. Through a processual perspective different levels are linked in the analysis of construction of gender and leadership; society, organisational and individual levels, expressed in terms of structure, symbols, interactions and individual sense making. Masculinity research is also a theoretical area of importance for the thesis, with analysis matrices for the understanding of construction of masculinity between men, as well relationships between masculinity and technology and masculinity and leadership respectively.</p><p>The empirical data consists of interviews and observations of managers at three different organisational levels at the factory of an industrial engineering firm.</p><p>Leadership stands out in the empirical data as an extended and male, dedicated as well as uniform story. In discussions of gender the differences between women and men are preferentially described, where above all opinions about women’s gender-typical characteristics are expressed. The opinions are to a greater extent gender-stereotypic. These dominating patterns are however challenged in different ways, through the managers different ways of positioning themselves towards respectively leadership and gender, expressed through their desire to limit the work and reasoning that distances itself from gender aspects being a deciding factor for leadership; through policies on fundamental values and equality as well as through a younger, female manager.</p><p>From a starting point in the dominating pattern the term leadership masculinities is developed: locally confirmed discourses and practices where leadership and masculinity meet in reciprocal interactions. These leadership masculinities are represented in the empirical material by The Son of the District, The Father, The Dedicated and The Feminine. The last leadership masculinity captures something of the variation and contrast to the dominating pattern which is also found in the material, for example as family and relationship orientation at both a policy and practice level.</p><p>In the thesis it is discussed in conclusion how reproduction and change, uniformity of pattern and variation appear in parallel in the data – there are gaps in the pattern that can be perceived as opportunities for change of gender relationships and leadership practice.</p>

Offentliga organisationer som har samhällsuppdraget inom skola och utbildning förändras och utvecklas ständigt, inte minst vad gäller högskolor. Tack vare den ständiga kunskapsökningen och utvecklingen i samhället krävs en långsiktig plan för att arbeta vidare och öka kvaliteten för området. 2016 upprättade regeringen en tillitsdelegation (SOU 2019:43) som tilldelades offentliga organisationer, att på uppdrag arbeta med mer tillitsbaserat styrideal inom sina verksamheter. Syftet med delegationen var att effektivisera verksamheter för medborgare genom att hitta en bra balans mellan tillit och kontroll. Trots att tillitsbaserad styrning och ledning många gånger uppfattas som positiv finns det utmaningar för professioner vid beslutsfattande och de ramar som verksamheter ska förhålla sig till. Komplexiteten utmanar balansen mellan tillit och kontroll, chefer behöver fortfarande kontroll över verksamheten samtidigt som medarbetarna får ökat handlingsutrymme i beslutsfattande. Syftet för studien var att belysa chefers och medarbetares upplevelser och vilka förutsättningar som verkar finnas inom en kunskapsintensiv verksamhet som Högskolan i Borås, när det kommer till hur tillitsbaserad styrning och ledning tillämpats. Genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer identifieras deras upplevelser kring styridealet. Intervjuerna har transkriberats och analyserats genom kodning för att hitta relevanta teman som sedan sammanfattats för att besvara studiens forskningsfrågor. Resultatet av studien visar att samtliga respondenter upplever tillitsidealet som positivt och som en bra förutsättning för att utveckla organisationen i sin helhet. Det som respondenterna lyfter är att kommunikation och tillitsfulla relationer är nyckeln till framgång i de olika verksamheterna på Högskolan i Borås. Även om studien belyser positiva aspekter finns en viss komplexitet och utmaningar associerade till idealet. / Public organizations with a societal mission in schools and education are constantly changing and evolving, especially universities. Due to the ongoing increase in knowledge and societal development, a long-term plan is needed to continue working and improve the quality of the area. In 2016, the government established a trust delegation (SOU 2019:43) assigned to public organizations, empowering them to work with a more trust-based governance ideal within their operations. The purpose of the delegation was to streamline activities for citizens by finding a good balance between trust and control. Although trust-based governance and management are often perceived as positive, there are challenges for professionals in decision-making and the frameworks that organizations must adhere to. The complexity challenges the balance between trust and control; managers still need control over the organization, while employees are given increased autonomy in decision-making. The purpose of the study was to shed light on the experiences of managers and employees, as well as the conditions within a knowledge-intensive organization like the University of Borås, concerning the application of trust-based governance and leadership. Through the semi-structured interviews, their reflections and experiences around the governance ideal were identified. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed through coding to find relevant themes, which were then summarized to answer the study's research questions. The results of the study show that all respondents experience the trust ideal as positive and as a good prerequisite for developing the organization as a whole. What the respondents highlight is that communication and trusting relationships are the key to success in the various operations at the University of Borås. Even though the study highlights positive aspects, it also reveals certain complexities and challenges associated with the ideal.