Contemporary leadership in healthcare organizations: fragmented or concurrent leadership.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of the main contemporary challenges for healthcare leaders in their everyday work practice, and the support they need to master their experienced dilemmas.


METHODS
Qualitative in-depth interviews (n=52), and focus-group interviews (n=6) with 31 first-line and 45 second-line healthcare leaders are analysed in line with constructivist grounded theory.


RESULTS
In this paper, two leadership models are proposed for defining and differentiating ways of meeting different logics and demands made on leaders in the healthcare sector. The first model is leadership by separating different logics and fragmentation of time. Here, leaders express a desire for support in defining, structuring, dividing, and allocating tasks. The second model is leadership by integrating different logics and currentness of solutions. In this case, leaders want support in strengthening proactive leadership and shaping the basis for participative employeeship.


CONCLUSIONS
This research is designed to describe what people experience rather than to assess the frequency of that experience in the studied settings. However, it would be interesting to elaborate on the findings of this study using other research methodologies.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings contribute to contextual knowledge that is of relevance in supporting healthcare leaders. This is helpful in identifying important conditions that support the establishment of leadership and employeeship, leading to improvements in healthcare practice.


CONCLUSIONS
The paper describes how contemporary leadership in the healthcare sector is constituted through different strategies for meeting multiple logics.
Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. ewa.wikstrom@handels.gu.se
Ewa
E
Wikstrøm
Lotta
L
Dellve
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017144:Focus Groups; D006298:Health Services Administration; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007857:Leadership; D017146:Models, Organizational; D015279:Organizational Culture; D011357:Product Line Management; D024382:Professional Role; D013548:Sweden