Leader-Member Exchange Theory och utvecklande ledarskap i Försvarsmakten

Sammanfattning: Building on previous research into the relationship between Leader-Member Exchange Theory and Transformational Leadership as well as decades’ worth of LMX-research, this study sets out to investigate the connection between high-quality leader-member exchanges and developmental leadership. The need for such a study arose from the lack of critical examination of the current leadership within the Swedish Armed Forces, as well as the central position given to the Developmental Leadership Theory. In order to examine the correlation between LMX and developmental leadership a questionnaire based on LMX-7 and the Developmental Leadership Questionnaire was constructed. Conscripts from the 1st Marine Regiment, the Artillery Regiment, the Life Guards Regiment and the Norrbotten Regiment were chosen as the study’s sample. Because of late rescheduling, ongoing field exercises and current restrictions due to the ongoing pandemic, only conscripts from the Norrbotten Regiment were able to partake in the study. Using data from 31 conscripts, this study found that there is a positive correlation between high-quality LMX-exchanges and subjection to developmental leadership. The data analysis of Pearson’s correlation coefficient resulted in r=0,66, denoting a moderate correlation. Due to the lacking response rate this result cannot be considered statistically significant, though. As a result, further studies into the relationship between Leader-Member Exchange Theory and Developmental Leadership Theory are required. The questionnaire used in the current study needs further evaluation and would benefit from being subjected to translation and back-translation procedures in order to verify its validity.