The book is aimed at employees, managers, leaders and students who want to understand employeeship and the Scandinavian leadership model as a basis for the development of their workplaces and themselves. This model has helped make the Nordic region the world's most well-functioning society, but it is also a demanding society, with a fast pace and expectations of responsibility and independence.
The historical roots of this model can provide a deeper understanding of what this is all about. The stories of our forefathers and foremothers who have shaped our imaginary world and our culture of thought rest there as a common unspoken truth about how things are and why they should be just like that. Against this historical backdrop, the leadership model emerges more clearly and can inspire conservation through renewal. Employeeship and the Scandinavian leadership model are two sides of the same phenomenon. What it means to be a professional employee is a complement to what it means to be a good leader. There is also a development perspective: What does it take for me to be a relevant and valued employee in the present and in the future, and what are the characteristics of successful companies?
What we present is thus largely our praxis theory. We have attempted to assemble our subjective experiences of what constitutes good leadership and good employeeship in a way that can sharpen the eye so that we can see more clearly what is going on and draw inspiration for growth and development, on both an individual and an organisational level. Our area of learning has been the tens of thousands of talented employees and leaders we have worked with. We have brought the best practices we have seen in one business with us to the next. This is how we have learned from our clients, while they have learned from us. This book is an attempt to present a holistic model of these fragmentary experiences.
Book reviews: More than ever the concept of medarbeiderskap - employeeship - is relevant in a labor market changing from hierarchical and leader-focused organizations to network organizations with focus on resilient and sustainable development.
Johan Velten and Runar Heggen take the reader through a very interesting narrative of the origin of the Nordic model and how medarbeiderskap has developed within this framework. The concept is described and illustrated using models to be used as very relevant and practical tools in developing not only leaders but all members of the organization. I have never intuitively liked and understood a model and a concept the way I am appreciating this book.
Trust based leadership and employeeship is based on many years of research and practical experience with organizational development. It is also the first book on the subject to be published in English and thus brings the concept of medarbeiderskap beyond Scandinavia's borders. The book becomes an important voice in the international discourse on organizational development.
Tine Svane Hansen, Ass. Professor and Vice head of Department of leadership and organization, Kristiania University College ______ The Nordic region is undoubtedly a uniquely well-functioning part of the world. Nowhere else on the planet is there a region with several countries that unites economic and social welfare with equality and care for the environment. The book Trust-Based Leader- and Employeeship provides an excellent description of the unique leadership tradition that has emerged, and which is an important foundation for developing societies and organizations that succeed in realizing the UN's global goals for a sustainable future.
Stefan Tengblad, Professor in Human Resource Management, Göteborgs universitet
