Abstract
M.Com. (Business Management)
The primary aim of the study was to ascertain whether an intervention relating to leadership and linked to the life and teachings of Viktor Frankl, eminent logo- therapist, would affect the way aspiring leaders construct leadership in terms of meaning.
The research participants comprised 20 students registered for a Master’s degree in Business Management (M.Com. Business Management) at a metropolitan university in Johannesburg. The majority of the participants were male (80%) and between the ages of 31- 40 (70%), working in a wide range of industries.
A qualitative approach was followed. The data was collected in three steps by means of (1) a questionnaire investigating leadership role-orientations, (2) a leadership development intervention, consisting of a presentation on the life, teachings and work of Viktor Frankl, and an appreciative inquiry (AI) on leadership with meaning, followed by (3) the same questionnaire that had been completed pre-intervention. For establishing possible change on an extrinsic (explicit) level the data was analysed using the framework analysis method (Ritchie & Spencer, 1994). For establishing possible change on an intrinsic (implicit) level, a comparative method was followed.
The main finding of this study suggests that a meaning-centred leadership development intervention, using the example of the life and teachings of Viktor Frankl, may have an impact on the leadership role-orientation of aspiring leaders, changing from a predominantly career leadership role-orientation to that of a calling leadership role-orientation. The indication, however, is that this effect largely took place on an explicit (extrinsic) level and to a lesser extent on an implicit (intrinsic), internalised level.