How Unstandardized Work Tasks Create Arenas for Leadership

Abstract

Interviews with 41 employees and managers in the Norwegian public welfare services identify characteristics and behaviors experienced as leadership. The study identifies how management behaviors such as deciding, controlling, and structuring the work create arenas for leadership and how these arenas vary with the standardization of work tasks. The findings connect employees leadership experiences to their need for management, and thus challenge the assumption that management tasks are a hindrance to leadership in the public welfare sector.