Fysiskt närvarande ledarskap. Spelar det någon roll? : En kvalitativ studie kring likheter och skillnader mellan fysiskt närvarande och fysiskt frånvarande ledarskap.

Sammanfattning: Digitalization has made working outside the office easier. When the physical meeting between manager and employee does not exist, another type of leadership is needed. Research has shown that, as the information society has advanced, leadership has evolved from a traditional, hierarchical leadership to a more decentralized coaching leadership. But what happens when a leader must lead and coach an employee that he or she does not physically meet? And does this leadership differ from a physically present leadership? The aim of this study has thus been to understand in what ways physically present and physically absent leadership resembles and differs from each other, based on the manager's perspective. This study is based on a qualitative perspective. The understanding of the perception of the subject has therefore been the starting point. In this study managers in the Stockholm area have been interviewed. Interview data has then been analyzed against theoretical frameworks within leadership and communication. Furthermore, the results of this analysis has been linked to previous research on the subject. The results of this study show that participating managers perceive themselves as being available to their employees, regardless whether they exercise physically present or physically absent leadership. Most of the managers emphasize a good relationship with their employees and the importance of seeing the individual in the employee. Our study shows that the physically distance between manager and employee affects which type of leadership the manager applies. Managers with physically present leadership show a more supervising leadership style compared to managers who exercise physically absent leadership.