Capturing value-based leadership in practice

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss the results from the appreciative inquiry (AI)-inspired interviews to explore the underlying values held by top managers and to identify soft aspects of leadership. Design/methodology/approach: Top managers were interviewed as a part of a research project with the aim to support the development of value-based leadership that integrates company values, organizational culture, customer needs and sustainable development. A structured interview guide, inspired by AI, was developed and used to pinpoint their motivation and vision of a good organization to understand the values that the managers had and to identify soft aspects of leadership. The interviews were analyzed in workshops with the whole research team and structured and visualized through affinity diagrams. Findings: The results showed the underlying values held by top managers and identified soft aspects of leadership. Practical implications: The presented interview guide can be used to identify the top managers’ underlying values, and the presented results from the interviews can be used to inspire other managers and leaders to develop their leadership in their striving of good leadership and effective organizations. Originality/value: The paper explains how to apply an AI-inspired interview guide in finding out value-based leadership and soft aspects of leadership for enhancing organizational culture.