Development as a Positive Leader in the Context of Thematic Supervision: Leaders' Experiences of D-Groups

Abstract

Supervision is defined as the process of examining and evaluating oneself, one's own work in a group or individually with a trained supervisor. Its’ objective is to facilitate the growth and learning of the participants. The focal point of this study is a particular form of thematic supervision grounded in the theoretical framework of positive leadership and organizational development, known as D-Groups. The objective of this study was to describe how leaders who have participated in the D-Groups perceive the significance of the groups for their own leadership development. The research was conducted as a qualitative study. The data were collected through focus group interviews and subsequently analyzed using a qualitative content analysis. A total of ten participants were interviewed. The primary findings indicate that the D-Groups serve as a valuable source of support, fostering a sense of pause, presence, and reflection. Additionally, the D-Groups were found to advance value-based leadership and support positive leadership in practice. Peer support and a sense of community emerged as key elements in the perceived significance of the D-Groups. The results highlight the D-Groups as a learning environment: a safe space for reflection, a conduit for novel ideas and perspectives, and a catalyst for expansive thinking. The study proposes D-Groups as a means of facilitating positive leadership development among leaders.