Navigating Self-Management and Resilience in Expert Organizations: Insights from a Finnish Doctoral Study
Juha Kinnunen’s blog text about his doctoral thesis.
In today’s rapidly evolving work environments, the concepts of self-management and resilience have become central to organizational development. Yet, despite their popularity in leadership discourse, empirical research on how these concepts are understood and enacted within organizations remains limited. This gap is precisely what my doctoral dissertation, defended at the University of Eastern Finland in August 29, 2025, seeks to address.
Why Study Self-Management and Resilience?
My research focuses on how staff and management in a Finnish financial expert organization interpret self-management and resilience. These themes are especially relevant in the context of organizational change, where increasing autonomy often demands greater psychological flexibility and adaptability from individuals.
The study emphasizes the need for a shared, multi-level understanding of self-management—particularly at the individual level—to support sustainable transformation. Moreover, resilience is identified as a critical capability for navigating such change, yet empirical insights into its role remain scarce.
Key Findings: Self-Management as Freedom, Responsibility, and Duty
The research reveals that self-management is not a monolithic concept but comprises three interrelated dimensions:
- Freedom: The ability to make independent decisions within boundaries. Staff members emphasized freedom as a source of motivation and meaningful work.
- Responsibility: Involves self-leadership and team accountability. Management team viewed responsibility as essential for achieving goals and maintaining cohesion.
- Duty: Refers to the duty to meet organizational targets and continuously develop one’s skills. Management team saw self-management as a tool for improving business outcomes.
Interestingly, while staff members highlighted freedom and community support, members of the management team focused more on responsibility and duty. This divergence underscores the importance of aligning interpretations across organizational levels.
Resilience as Adaptability, Skill, and Attitude
Resilience was interpreted through three lenses:
- Adaptability: The capacity to adjust to ongoing changes and shift direction when needed.
- Survival Skills: Strong self-leadership, problem-solving, and self-awareness.
- Attitude at Work: A proactive mindset shaped by past experiences and supported by leadership efforts.
While staff members valued peer and managerial support in building resilience, they also expressed a desire for more formal training. Members of the management team, however, viewed resilience more as a personal trait that could be coached but not necessarily taught.
Basic Psychological Needs and Their Link to Resilience
Using validated instruments, the study found a positive correlation between Self-Determination Theory´s basic psychological needs—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—and resilience. This suggests that fulfilling these needs can foster motivation and create fertile ground for self-managed behaviour.
Practical Implications for Organizations
My dissertation offers actionable insights for organizations aiming to enhance self-managed work practices:
- Support individual resilience, especially during change initiatives.
- Foster shared interpretations of self-management and related terms across teams and leadership.
- Design leadership strategies that balance freedom with structure.
Methodology at a Glance
The study employed a mixed-methods case study approach in a Finnish financial expert organization with around 100 employees. Data collection spanned from 2020 to 2022 and included:
- Qualitative interviews with staff and management team.
- Quantitative surveys measuring resilience and basic psychological needs.
- Qualitative content analysis and correlation analysis to synthesize findings.
New Insights into Self-Management and Resilience in Expert Organizations
The key contribution of my research lies in its exploration of self-management and resilience together within the context of expert organizations. Based on a case study in a competitive financial sector organization, I argue that these concepts can be interpreted in conflicting and ambiguous ways and are sometimes viewed as tools for achieving better business outcomes.
The study highlights differing perspectives between staff members and management. While staff members associate self-management with increased freedom and responsibility over their work, management team members frame it also as a duty to advance shared goals. This dual interpretation enriches the ongoing discussion around increased autonomy in the workplace and offers a more nuanced understanding of how self-management is shaped in competitive environments.
Resilience emerges as a critical factor when expanding self-managed practices. It supports individuals in adapting to change and maintaining performance under pressure. The research emphasizes that supporting individual resilience is especially important during organizational transitions and should be a key consideration in leadership strategies.
From a practical standpoint, the study offers valuable insights for developing self-managed organizations. It provides new knowledge on how leadership can foster resilience in ways that align with self-management goals. Supporting shared interpretations, clear objectives, and psychologically safe environments can help organizations navigate change more effectively. Ultimately, resilience-supportive leadership plays a vital role in enabling sustainable self-managed practices. Strengthening individual resilience is not just beneficial—it’s essential for long-term organizational development.