9 evidence based issues about shared leadership that you need to know

The 9 evidence based issues about shared leadership that you need to know

Shared Leadership: How to make it work

A meta-analysis of 72 research papers just published has thrown up nine points for human resources and development professionals to consider when looking at a shared leadership system. The paper looked at shared leadership at a team level rather than the macro organisational level.

Businesses and other organisations are often fairly risk averse with regards to leadership and the shared model appears more often at lower levels than at upper levels in business as a result. The study,  published in the Journal ‘Advances in Developing Human Resources’ found that there were 9 consistent themes across all the 72 previously published research studies:

 

Be impressively well-informed

Get your FREE organizational and people development research briefings, infographics, video research briefings, a free copy of The Oxford Review and more...

Be impressively well-informed and up-to-date

Powered by ConvertKit

 

The 9 shared leadership issues

 

  1. Team working improvements. Shared leadership is an important and useful system that enhances team working. In particular: “improved team performance, effectiveness, innovation and learning”.

 

  1. It frequently contributes more than a vertical leadership model does. The researchers qualify this by saying that shared leadership can improve team performance through the negotiated and often better and more rounded and thought through outcomes that do not always come from the vertical leadership model.

 

  1. Responsibilities normally given to the team manager are shared among the team. This it has been found, gives greater ownership and consequently motivation to succeed across the team.

 

  1. Developing shared leadership takes time. There are broadly two phases to its bedding in – the transition phase, where each team member collectively and individually gets used to the new leadership approach, and the active phase, where the team moves from bedding in to taking action on whatever tasks it has been assigned.

 

  1. Core skills and attitudes required. The researchers found that shared leadership is more likely to succeed where there is integrity, self-leadership, a collective orientation and a trusting disposition,. Conversely shared leadership can help to develop these traits.

 

  1. Often good vertical leadership can accelerate the emergence of shared leadership. In much the same way as a hands off manager who trusts their team to do their jobs well is often regarded as a good manager, the transformational and empowering models of leadership were cited as being particularly good for this. Poor leadership however, such as aversive and directive leadership, can hamper shared leadership. It has also been found that lower down, shared leadership can actually enhance the quality of vertical leadership within the organisation.

 

  1. Those participating in shared leadership need to have a “shared understanding of the team’s purpose, task and situation”.

 

  1. As well as traditional team and task performance, thinking in terms of social networks and the value they bring is a useful way to provide insights as to how the self-leading team is functioning and performing.

 

  1. The final point is that the quality of the shared leadership’s impact is influenced by having a supportive environment, task interdependence and also by the complexity of the work the team performs..

 

 

The study found that shared leadership does not work in every situation. However, in complex and changing situations, shared leadership should be seriously considered.

 

Reference – available to members

 

https://oxford-review.com/archive-home/leadership-research-briefings/

Be impressively well informed

Get the very latest research intelligence briefings, video research briefings, infographics and more sent direct to you as they are published

Be the most impressively well-informed and up-to-date person around...

Powered by ConvertKit
Like what you see? Help us spread the word

David Wilkinson

David Wilkinson is the Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford Review. He is also acknowledged to be one of the world's leading experts in dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty and developing emotional resilience. David teaches and conducts research at a number of universities including the University of Oxford, Medical Sciences Division, Cardiff University, Oxford Brookes University School of Business and many more. He has worked with many organisations as a consultant and executive coach including Schroders, where he coaches and runs their leadership and management programmes, Royal Mail, Aimia, Hyundai, The RAF, The Pentagon, the governments of the UK, US, Saudi, Oman and the Yemen for example. In 2010 he developed the world's first and only model and programme for developing emotional resilience across entire populations and organisations which has since become known as the Fear to Flow model which is the subject of his next book. In 2012 he drove a 1973 VW across six countries in Southern Africa whilst collecting money for charity and conducting on the ground charity work including developing emotional literature in children and orphans in Africa and a number of other activities. He is the author of The Ambiguity Advanatage: What great leaders are great at, published by Palgrave Macmillian. See more: About: About David Wikipedia: David's Wikipedia Page

  • 3drivers says:

    3appropriateness

  • Theme5s says:

    Hello! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace
    group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really enjoy your content.
    Please let me know. Cheers

  • >