Title:                          Leadership development of individuals in management positions   Authors:                    Carl Renér and Peter Simonsson     Institution:                Linneaus University, School of Business and Economics   Program:                   Human Resource Management   Course:                      Business administration – Organization including thesis, 15 credits   Supervisor:               Olle Duhlin (Linneaus University, School of Business and Economics)   Examiner:                 Mikael Lundgren (Linneaus University, School of Business and Economics)   It is widely known that the role of managers may result in stress and a heavy workload. As a result of this negative effects organisations have to counteract and find new solutions and systems to facilitate and assist leaders in their work. A popular method for leadership development has come to show both in research and in practice, especially in recent years, this popular method is known as mentoring. This form of leadership development is often applied in so called mentoring programs. The question remains regarding however mentorship and mentoring programs can affect the participant’s leadership development in a positive way. The purpose of this study is to create a deeper understanding of how mentoring can be used as a tool for leadership development of individuals in managing positions.  To answer this question, a qualitative method was used to gather the data and the empirical data was collected by nine semi-structured interviews with participants in the program. We have used an abductive approach to examine how the programs participants have perceived the program. The study shows that mentorship is a well functioning method for leadership development of individuals in management positions. In our case study the results have shown that mentoring programs can be used as a tool for personal development. We have come to the conclusion that it requires dedicated participants and a structured approach in the execution of such a program.