Ledarskap inom hästnäringen : skillnader och likheter i olika typer av verksamheter

Sammanfattning: This study analyze leadership within equestrian sports and the leader’s own reflections regarding their role as a leader. Differences and similarities in different types of organizations are also taken in consideration. The fact that it is not known today how the leaders look at their leadership is an important factor and purpose for this study. This is because the leadership role today becomes more and more complex and needs to be highlighted and visualized as today’s generation becomes more and more demanding. This study discusses how leaders in the equine industry perceive at their leadership role. It also observes the impact of the differences and similarities regarding leadership in different types of organizations. Eight equestrian leaders, all of them active in different types of organizations, took part in this study. Four of them working in riding schools and four of them are leaders in private-run businesses. The method used was semi structured interviews by phone. The interviews was recorded and transcribed in order to be processed, analyzed and compared. The result clearly shows that the leaders see their role as important. They consider they are responsible for running well functioning organizations, with employees given own responsibility along the lines of competence. Communication is one of the most important tools for good leadership. A situational leadership is emphasized regarding the target group and situation. All leaders have similar view on how to manage conflicts. When interpreting the interviews, the result showed that they all primarily use communication as a method to solve conflicts. Everyone also has a strong desire to develop their leadership and considers it as important to do so. This study presents differences in the responder’s leadership education. Leaders in riding schools have more education compared to leaders in the private sector.