The project's aim
The purpose of this project has been to sociologically investigate "leader communities", that is, analyzing the social and cultural norms and values that characterize the communities in which leaders live with their families, where their children go to kindergarten and school and grow up, where they socialize with friends and acquaintances, where they get married, grow old and die. With "leader" I refer not only to persons with a formal position such as CEO or similar, but to all those who in various ways have the opportunity to reach an influence over their environment, and are seen by others as leaders. As object of investigation the community of Djursholm outside Stockholm was chosen, a place that both historically and in the present day attracted Sweden's cultural, political and economic elite. The method has been ethnographic and included (a) a large number of interviews and informal conversations with people that presently live or have lived in Djursholm, as well as people who have Djursholm as their workplace;  (b) participant observation in a variety of social situations, such as associations, parties, families, schools, and kindergartens, public life on the streets, in the woods and so on;  (c) the historical sources, social media, web pages, articles on Djursholm and its inhabitants, obituary of deceased “djursholmare” and so on;  (d) additional questionnaires to parents, children and adolescents;  (e) as well as specially commissioned statistical information from organizations such as Statistiska Centralbyrån, Socialstyrelsen and Brottsförebyggande rådet. The starting point for the project has been the Swedish and international leadership research: in their studies of leaders as a social group and category in society, scholars have so far mainly focused on leaders in their professional roles and contexts.  The question of how people are formed as leaders, in the form of influential people, has primarily been studied in formal organizations and networks to which they belong, such as companies, associations and schools.  Less attention, if any, has been paid to the communities in which leaders live with their families.  In social anthropology, so-called local community studies has focused mainly on socially and economically disadvantaged areas, but has devoted less attention to privileged environments;  Likewise, sociological studies of elite Environments have not studied them as "leader communities".  Overall, there is a significant need for the kind of study that is presented here.
 
The project's main results
In this study, I describe how Djursholm creates a self-image as leader among its inhabitants, and how this is reflected in residents' values, attitudes and behaviors.  Particular importance has been given to understand, describe and analyze how this is done for children and adolescents. Two key concepts which I mainly draw from Bourdieu and Weber characterize my presentation and analysis: consecration and aura.  Djursholm consecrates their residents to leaders, which is done through society's aura.  Consecration is about socially and morally elevating people to an almost spiritual state, which is an important condition for the possibility of leadership.  The aura is made up of society's symbolic value and cultural capital and is manifested ultimately in its history, buildings, institutions, and residents' lifestyle. Consecration is far from problematic and involve significant physical, psychological and social challenges and efforts for the inhabitants.  In my a study of schools in Djursholm, I noted, for example, the high proportion of children and adolescents diagnosed as dyslexic, which has less to do with any real reading and writing deficiencies, and more to do with managing social deviation in the form of mediocre or 'normal' academic performance in an environment that expects excellence. A high consumption of alcohol also characterizes Djursholm and applies to both adults and young people, which can be seen as an expression of the widespread feeling of inadequacy as many residents seem to bear, and that is expressed in different. Social relationships also means both risk and opportunity: the aura is fragile and is based on the residents' ability to constantly produce and re-produce some key behavioral norms and values.
 
But my study is not only a sociological analysis of a leader community.  I also try to show and argue for, that leader communities are important to study not only on its own merits as an expression of a particular form of local community, but above all because they are normative environments and therefore affect far more people than those who currently happen to live there.  In Djursholm people are consecrated to leaders and often act as such;  but their begaviour will certainly not based on knowledge, skills and formal qualifications;  but on the basis of a social, communicative and aesthetic excellence.  To describe how Djursholm acts as moral guide and influences its environment, I introduce the concept of "consecracy" and contrasts this against the concept of meritocracy.  The consecracy, I contend, gain in importance in society at large at the expense of meritocracy - which can be understood by studying the lifestyle and the norms and values that characterize a society like Djursholm. A consecracy evokes an "aura society" in contrast to a knowledge society.  This is, for example, expressed in such popular concepts such as “employability” in the workplace, where it is above all a certain level of individual and social expression that is in demand. With the concept of consecray my aim is both to explore a theoretical understanding for how certain Environments can be understood as leader communities as a result of their normative potentials, and to describe a type of society that has not yet been thourougly conceptualized.

 
Finally, my study hopefully contributes to a discussion and debate on how social science research can be conducted and published. International publication in English in peer-reviewed journals is in many ways a positive thing to Swedish social sciences. However, there is today also a growing criticism of the so-called "gap spotting" research (see, for example, Mats Alvesson’s many texts on this issue), that is a research emanating from a very narrow and maybe even sometimes trivial problematization.  This study of a society wants to contribute to the social sciences because in highlighting the importance of larger and more comprehensive analyzes. In addition, the study's first publication is a book in Swedish, which I also see as a key point for a social science that is becoming more and more preoccupied to unilaterally publish their results and analyzes in English international journals. We need, I mean a social science that can both - that is, both publish books in Swedish (and English), publish English texts in professional journals.  Finally, it is my hope with this book that it is a contribution to the academic discipline of Business Administration. It is a study of a society; and it manifests the potential of an interdisciplinary and socially relevant approach.
 
New research questions that have been generated by the project
In this work, I have especially become aware of schools' role and importance in forming leaders;  but then not primarily their pedagogy and curriculum, but the unique social environment that they may offer.  Schools are important consecrating institutions through the meetings of children and young people that they make possible.  In future research, I intend to immerse myself in these issues. I see such research as a logical continuation of the project I just finished, and which may also contribute to to establish a more organized and extensive social science research on elites and elite environments in Sweden.
 
The project's international affiliation
This study is based on an internationally established theory in leadership research, sociology, anthropology and history. I've already had seminars abroad on the project and will continue to participate in international research conferences.  In addition, I also work with international publications (see below).
 
Research Informative actions outside the scientific community
My study of Djursholm has attracted interest both inside and outside the academy and has led to several interesting seminars and debates.  Outside the academy, I have participated in talks and seminars at the Göteborg Book Fair and the Kulturhuset in Stockholm.  I have been interviewed several times in the local and national media, such as SVT Kulturnyheterna, P1 Morgon and the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.  I myself have contributed articles on popular science, for example, in DN Kultur.
 
The project's main publications and publishing strategy
In May 2015, I published the monograph Djursholm – Sveriges ledarsamhälle (Atlantis), on over 740 pages presents the study in its entirety.  I have also in 2012 published an article in the Scandinavian Journal of Management.  Looking ahead, I am working on a publication of the book for an international publisher, as well as articles for international journals, where I as far as possible will choose open access journals. These publications follow the publishing strategy as I indicated in the application, and that I have worked successfully in previous projects.