När ledarskap möter verkligheten : Tillitsbaserat ledarskap i ett svenskt polisområde

Trust-based management and governance, which includes trust-based leadership, have been advocated by politicians, scientists, and by The Swedish Police Authority’s internal governing documents. However, there have been no studies investigating how trust-based leadership is applied in practice, as well as what the conditions are to implement it. This thesis aims to examine the application as well as the implementation conditions described by managers in a Swedish police district. The study is qualitative and utilises semi-structured interviews held with six active managers at both the strategic and operational level within the examined police district. The results have been analysed applying thematic analysis. The findings show that trust-based leadership has been implemented to some extent within the police district, but that there are both internal and external factors affecting the managers’ ability to apply it in practice. Among these factors emerged an organizational short-sightedness regarding implementations introducing insecurity that may further inhibit implementation efforts. The study contributes to enhancing the knowledge regarding both leadership practices and their implementation within The Swedish Police Authority. The study and its findings can be used to guide future implementation efforts within The Swedish Police Authority, as well as create a basis for future research.