Shared Leadership is a transformative approach to organizational leadership that emphasizes collaboration, collective decision-making, and the distribution of leadership responsibilities among team members.
Shared Leadership is characterized by the following key features:
Collaborative Decision-Making: In a Shared Leadership model, decision-making is a collaborative effort involving multiple team members. Leadership responsibilities are distributed, allowing team members to participate in shaping the direction of the organization.
Collective Influence: Shared Leadership recognizes that leadership is not the sole domain of individuals in formal leadership roles. It encourages team members at all levels to exert influence and contribute to the organization’s success.
Interdependence: Team members in a Shared Leadership environment depend on each other’s expertise and perspectives. They work together to achieve common goals, and leadership emerges organically based on the situation and expertise needed.
Adaptability: Shared Leadership is adaptable and responsive to change. It allows organizations to harness the diverse talents and insights of their members to navigate complex and dynamic environments.
Empowerment: Team members are empowered to take initiative and assume leadership roles as needed. This empowerment fosters a culture of trust and accountability.
Historical Context of Shared Leadership
The concept of Shared Leadership has evolved in response to changing organizational dynamics, emerging leadership theories, and a recognition of the limitations of traditional hierarchical leadership:
1. Team-Based Approaches:
The rise of cross-functional teams and project-based work in organizations paved the way for Shared Leadership by emphasizing collaboration and collective decision-making.
2. Transformational Leadership:
Transformational leadership theories highlighted the importance of inspiring and empowering followers. Shared Leadership builds on these ideas by extending leadership beyond formal roles.
3. Complexity Theory:
Complexity theory, which acknowledges the unpredictable and nonlinear nature of organizations, influenced the shift toward more adaptive and distributed forms of leadership.
4. Servant Leadership:
Servant leadership principles, which prioritize the needs of others, align with the collaborative and empowering nature of Shared Leadership.
5. Knowledge Economy:
In knowledge-based industries, the expertise of team members is a valuable resource. Shared Leadership leverages this expertise by giving team members a greater say in decision-making.
The Significance of Shared Leadership
Shared Leadership has gained significance in contemporary organizations for several compelling reasons:
1. Complexity and Uncertainty:
Organizations operate in increasingly complex and uncertain environments. Shared Leadership offers a more adaptive and responsive approach to leadership.
2. Employee Engagement:
Empowering employees to assume leadership roles enhances their engagement and commitment to the organization.
3. Diverse Perspectives:
Shared Leadership ensures that diverse perspectives and expertise are considered in decision-making, leading to more innovative solutions.
4. Agility and Innovation:
Collaboration and collective influence promote agility and innovation, enabling organizations to respond effectively to change and market dynamics.
5. Succession Planning:
Shared Leadership provides a natural framework for identifying and developing future leaders within the organization.
Principles and Practices of Shared Leadership
Shared Leadership operates based on a set of principles and practices that guide its implementation within organizations:
1. Collaborative Decision-Making:
Decisions are made collaboratively, with input from team members at all levels. Leaders facilitate the process but do not dominate it.
2. Empowerment:
Team members are empowered to take on leadership roles and make decisions within their areas of expertise.
3. Collective Influence:
Leadership is distributed, and team members are encouraged to exert influence and contribute to the organization’s goals.
4. Interdependence:
Team members recognize their interdependence and rely on each other’s knowledge and skills to achieve shared objectives.
5. Adaptability:
Shared Leadership is adaptable, with leadership roles emerging organically based on the needs of the situation.
6. Communication and Transparency:
Effective communication and transparency are essential for building trust and fostering collaboration.
7. Feedback and Learning:
Regular feedback and opportunities for learning and development are integral to Shared Leadership.
8. Accountability:
Team members are held accountable for their contributions and leadership responsibilities.
Benefits of Shared Leadership
Shared Leadership offers numerous benefits to organizations and their members:
1. Collaborative Decision-Making:
Decisions benefit from the diverse expertise and perspectives of team members, leading to more effective and innovative solutions.
2. Employee Engagement:
Empowering employees to assume leadership roles increases their engagement and commitment to the organization.
3. Agility and Adaptability:
Organizations become more agile and adaptable as leadership emerges organically to address evolving challenges and opportunities.
4. Diversity and Inclusion:
Shared Leadership fosters a culture of inclusion, where all voices are heard and valued.
5. Succession Planning:
Identifying and developing future leaders within the organization becomes a natural part of the process.
6. Innovation:
Collaboration and collective influence stimulate innovation and creative problem-solving.
7. Trust and Accountability:
Trust is built through transparency, and team members are held accountable for their contributions.
Challenges and Considerations
Implementing Shared Leadership is not without challenges and considerations:
1. Cultural Shift:
Transitioning to a Shared Leadership model may require a significant cultural shift and change management efforts.
2. Role Clarity:
Clear role definitions are essential to prevent confusion and role overlap.
3. Communication Complexity:
Effective communication and coordination can be challenging in a Shared Leadership environment.
4. Leadership Development:
Developing leaders who can facilitate collaborative decision-making and empower team members is crucial.
5. Performance Metrics:
Defining meaningful metrics to measure the success of Shared Leadership practices can be complex.
6. Resistance to Change:
Some team members and leaders may resist the shift away from traditional hierarchical models.
Future Trends in Shared Leadership
The future of Shared Leadership is influenced by emerging trends and evolving needs within organizations:
1. Digital Collaboration Tools:
Technology tools and platforms will continue to enhance communication, collaboration, and decision-making in Shared Leadership contexts.
2. Remote Work and Virtual Teams:
Shared Leadership will evolve to accommodate remote work and virtual teams, enabling seamless collaboration across geographic boundaries.
3. Global Collaboration:
Organizations will increasingly embrace Shared Leadership as a way to harness the collective expertise of globally distributed teams.
4. Distributed Governance:
Shared Leadership principles may extend to the governance and decision-making structures of organizations.
5. Leadership Development:
Leadership development programs will focus on equipping leaders with the skills and mindset needed for Shared Leadership.
6. Diversity and Inclusion:
Organizations will prioritize diversity and inclusion efforts within Shared Leadership teams to leverage the full spectrum of perspectives.
Conclusion
Shared Leadership represents a transformative approach to organizational leadership that prioritizes collaboration, collective influence, and empowerment. By distributing leadership responsibilities and recognizing the interdependence of team members, organizations can achieve greater agility, innovation, and employee engagement. While challenges exist in transitioning to a Shared Leadership model, the benefits in terms of decision-making, adaptability, and diversity of thought make it a compelling choice for organizations seeking to thrive in an ever-changing business landscape. As the world of work continues to evolve, the principles and practices of Shared Leadership offer a path toward more collaborative, inclusive, and effective leadership and governance structures.
Key Highlights
Definition and Characteristics:
Shared Leadership emphasizes collaboration, collective decision-making, and distributing leadership responsibilities among team members.
Key features include collaborative decision-making, collective influence, interdependence, adaptability, and empowerment.
Historical Context:
Evolved in response to changing organizational dynamics, emergence of new leadership theories, and recognition of limitations of hierarchical leadership.
Influenced by team-based approaches, transformational leadership, complexity theory, servant leadership, and the knowledge economy.
Significance:
Addresses complexity and uncertainty in organizations.
Remote work and virtual teams will influence Shared Leadership.
Global collaboration will increase.
Distributed governance may become prevalent.
Leadership development programs will adapt.
Diversity and inclusion efforts will be prioritized.
Conclusion:
Shared Leadership transforms organizational leadership through collaboration, empowerment, and distributed responsibility.
While challenges exist, the benefits in decision-making, adaptability, and diversity of thought make it compelling.
Shared Leadership offers a path toward more effective and inclusive leadership structures in evolving work environments.
Related Concepts
Description
Implications
Shared Leadership
– Leadership approach where leadership responsibilities are distributed among team members. – Involves collaboration, collective decision-making, and mutual influence. – Leadership emerges organically from within the team rather than being assigned to a single individual. – Emphasizes trust, communication, and accountability among team members.
– Collaboration and teamwork: Shared leadership fosters collaboration and teamwork by distributing leadership responsibilities and decision-making authority among team members, and by promoting open communication, trust, and mutual support that enable individuals to contribute their unique perspectives, skills, and expertise to achieving shared goals and objectives, fostering a sense of ownership, engagement, and commitment that enhances team performance and effectiveness over time. – Adaptability and resilience: Shared leadership promotes adaptability and resilience by empowering team members to adapt, innovate, and problem-solve collectively in response to changing circumstances, challenges, and opportunities, and by providing support, guidance, and resources to help them navigate uncertainty and complexity with confidence and agility, fostering a culture of flexibility, creativity, and continuous improvement that drives organizational success and impact in a dynamic and competitive business environment. – Trust and accountability: Shared leadership builds trust and accountability by fostering a culture of transparency, fairness, and responsibility among team members, and by promoting shared values, norms, and expectations that guide behavior, decision-making, and performance, fostering a sense of mutual respect, integrity, and accountability that enhances team cohesion, resilience, and performance in pursuing common objectives and addressing complex challenges and opportunities over time. – Empowerment and development: Shared leadership empowers and develops team members by providing opportunities for leadership development, skill-building, and growth, and by encouraging them to take initiative, make decisions, and contribute their talents and ideas to achieving team goals and objectives, fostering a culture of learning, collaboration, and innovation that enhances employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention, and drives organizational effectiveness and impact in a rapidly changing and interconnected world.
Distributed Leadership
– Leadership approach that involves sharing leadership responsibilities and decision-making across individuals and teams. – Involves delegation, collaboration, and empowerment. – Leadership is seen as a collective process rather than a position or role. – Emphasizes trust, transparency, and accountability.
– Delegation and empowerment: Distributed leadership involves delegating authority and responsibility to individuals and teams, and empowering them to make decisions, solve problems, and innovate in their areas of expertise, fostering ownership, engagement, and accountability that enhance performance and effectiveness in achieving shared goals and values over time. – Collaboration and coordination: Distributed leadership promotes collaboration and coordination among individuals and teams by creating structures, processes, and cultures that enable shared decision-making, communication, and problem-solving, fostering trust, alignment, and synergy that enhance team cohesion, resilience, and performance in pursuing common objectives and addressing complex challenges and opportunities over time. – Trust and transparency: Distributed leadership builds trust and transparency by involving individuals and teams in decision-making, and by providing access to information, feedback, and resources that enable them to understand and contribute to organizational goals and priorities, fostering a culture of openness, accountability, and responsibility that enhances communication, collaboration, and innovation in a dynamic and competitive business environment. – Adaptability and responsiveness: Distributed leadership promotes adaptability and responsiveness by distributing leadership responsibilities and decision-making authority across individuals and teams, and by enabling them to adapt and respond effectively to changing business conditions, market dynamics, and stakeholder expectations, fostering a culture of agility, innovation, and continuous improvement that drives organizational success and impact over time.
Collective Leadership
– Leadership approach where multiple individuals contribute to leadership functions and decision-making. – Involves a shared sense of responsibility and accountability for team or organizational outcomes. – Emphasizes collaboration, consensus-building, and inclusivity. – Leadership emerges from the collective actions and interactions of team members.
– Shared responsibility and accountability: Collective leadership fosters a sense of shared responsibility and accountability among team members for achieving team or organizational goals and objectives, and for upholding shared values, norms, and standards of conduct, fostering a culture of mutual trust, respect, and integrity that enhances team cohesion, resilience, and performance in pursuing common objectives and addressing complex challenges and opportunities over time. – Collaboration and consensus-building: Collective leadership promotes collaboration and consensus-building by encouraging open dialogue, active listening, and constructive feedback among team members, and by seeking input, feedback, and buy-in from all stakeholders in decision-making processes, fostering a sense of ownership, engagement, and commitment that enhances communication, alignment, and synergy in achieving shared goals and values over time. – Inclusivity and diversity: Collective leadership embraces inclusivity and diversity by valuing and respecting the contributions, perspectives, and experiences of all team members, and by creating opportunities for participation, collaboration, and contribution that empower individuals to contribute their unique talents and ideas to achieving shared goals and objectives, fostering a culture of creativity, innovation, and continuous improvement that drives organizational success and impact in a rapidly changing and interconnected world. – Adaptability and resilience: Collective leadership promotes adaptability and resilience by leveraging the diverse talents, skills, and perspectives of team members to adapt, innovate, and problem-solve effectively in response to changing circumstances, challenges, and opportunities, fostering a culture of flexibility, creativity, and continuous improvement that enables the organization to navigate uncertainty and complexity with confidence and agility over time.
Collaborative Leadership
– Leadership approach that emphasizes collaboration, teamwork, and shared decision-making. – Involves building consensus, fostering trust, and promoting inclusivity. – Leadership is seen as a collective process rather than a position or role. – Emphasizes communication, empathy, and cooperation among team members.
– Building consensus and alignment: Collaborative leadership focuses on building consensus and alignment among team members by promoting open dialogue, active listening, and constructive feedback, and by seeking input, feedback, and buy-in from all stakeholders in decision-making processes, fostering a sense of ownership, engagement, and commitment that enhances communication, alignment, and synergy in achieving shared goals and values over time. – Fostering trust and inclusivity: Collaborative leadership fosters trust and inclusivity by valuing and respecting the contributions, perspectives, and experiences of all team members, and by creating opportunities for participation, collaboration, and contribution that empower individuals to contribute their unique talents and ideas to achieving shared goals and objectives, fostering a culture of creativity, innovation, and continuous improvement that drives organizational success and impact in a rapidly changing and interconnected world. – Promoting communication and cooperation: Collaborative leadership promotes communication and cooperation among team members by providing platforms, structures, and processes that enable open dialogue, information sharing, and knowledge exchange, and by fostering a culture of respect, empathy, and cooperation that enhances team cohesion, resilience, and performance in pursuing common objectives and addressing complex challenges and opportunities over time. – Enhancing adaptability and resilience: Collaborative leadership enhances adaptability and resilience by leveraging the diverse talents, skills, and perspectives of team members to adapt, innovate, and problem-solve effectively in response to changing circumstances, challenges, and opportunities, fostering a culture of flexibility, creativity, and continuous improvement that enables the organization to navigate uncertainty and complexity with confidence and agility over time.
In a functional organizational structure, groups and teams are organized based on function. Therefore, this organization follows a top-down structure, where most decision flows from top management to bottom. Thus, the bottom of the organization mostly follows the strategy detailed by the top of the organization.
In a flat organizational structure, there is little to no middle management between employees and executives. Therefore it reduces the space between employees and executives to enable an effective communication flow within the organization, thus being faster and leaner.
Project portfolio management (PPM) is a systematic approach to selecting and managing a collection of projects aligned with organizational objectives. That is a business process of managing multiple projects which can be identified, prioritized, and managed within the organization. PPM helps organizations optimize their investments by allocating resources efficiently across all initiatives.
Harvard Business School professor Dr. John Kotter has been a thought-leader on organizational change, and he developed Kotter’s 8-step change model, which helps business managers deal with organizational change. Kotter created the 8-step model to drive organizational transformation.
The Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model was created by David Nadler and Michael Tushman at Columbia University. The Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model is a diagnostic tool that identifies problem areas within a company. In the context of business, congruence occurs when the goals of different people or interest groups coincide.
McKinsey’s Seven Degrees of Freedom for Growth is a strategy tool. Developed by partners at McKinsey and Company, the tool helps businesses understand which opportunities will contribute to expansion, and therefore it helps to prioritize those initiatives.
Mintzberg’s 5Ps of Strategy is a strategy development model that examines five different perspectives (plan, ploy, pattern, position, perspective) to develop a successful business strategy. A sixth perspective has been developed over the years, called Practice, which was created to help businesses execute their strategies.
The COSO framework is a means of designing, implementing, and evaluating control within an organization. The COSO framework’s five components are control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring activities. As a fraud risk management tool, businesses can design, implement, and evaluate internal control procedures.
The TOWS Matrix is an acronym for Threats, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Strengths. The matrix is a variation on the SWOT Analysis, and it seeks to address criticisms of the SWOT Analysis regarding its inability to show relationships between the various categories.
Lewin’s change management model helps businesses manage the uncertainty and resistance associated with change. Kurt Lewin, one of the first academics to focus his research on group dynamics, developed a three-stage model. He proposed that the behavior of individuals happened as a function of group behavior.
OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research laboratory that transitioned into a for-profit organization in 2019. The corporate structure is organized around two entities: OpenAI, Inc., which is a single-member Delaware LLC controlled by OpenAI non-profit, And OpenAI LP, which is a capped, for-profit organization. The OpenAI LP is governed by the board of OpenAI, Inc (the foundation), which acts as a General Partner. At the same time, Limited Partners comprise employees of the LP, some of the board members, and other investors like Reid Hoffman’s charitable foundation, Khosla Ventures, and Microsoft, the leading investor in the LP.
Airbnb follows a holacracy model, or a sort of flat organizational structure, where teams are organized for projects, to move quickly and iterate fast, thus keeping a lean and flexible approach. Airbnb also moved to a hybrid model where employees can work from anywhere and meet on a quarterly basis to plan ahead, and connect to each other.
The Amazon organizational structure is predominantly hierarchical with elements of function-based structure and geographic divisions. While Amazon started as a lean, flat organization in its early years, it transitioned into a hierarchical organization with its jobs and functions clearly defined as it scaled.
The Coca-Cola Company has a somewhat complex matrix organizational structure with geographic divisions, product divisions, business-type units, and functional groups.
Costco has a matrix organizational structure, which can simply be defined as any structure that combines two or more different types. In this case, a predominant functional structure exists with a more secondary divisional structure.
Costco’s geographic divisions reflect its strong presence in the United States combined with its expanding global presence. There are six divisions in the country alone to reflect its standing as the source of most company revenue.
Compared to competitor Walmart, for example, Costco takes more a decentralized approach to management, decision-making, and autonomy. This allows the company’s stores and divisions to more flexibly respond to local market conditions.
Dell has a functional organizational structure with some degree of decentralization. This means functional departments share information, contribute ideas to the success of the organization and have some degree of decision-making power.
eBay was until recently a multi-divisional (M-form) organization with semi-autonomous units grouped according to the services they provided. Today, eBay has a single division called Marketplace, which includes eBay and its international iterations.
Facebook is characterized by a multi-faceted matrix organizational structure. The company utilizes a flat organizational structure in combination with corporate function-based teams and product-based or geographic divisions. The flat organization structure is organized around the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg, and the key executives around him. On the other hand, the function-based teams are based on the main corporate functions (like HR, product management, investor relations, and so on).
Goldman Sachs has a hierarchical structure with a clear chain of command and defined career advancement process. The structure is also underpinned by business-type divisions and function-based groups.
Google (Alphabet) has a cross-functional (team-based) organizational structure known as a matrix structure with some degree of flatness. Over the years, as the company scaled and it became a tech giant, its organizational structure is morphing more into a centralized organization.
IBM has an organizational structure characterized by product-based divisions, enabling its strategy to develop innovative and competitive products in multiple markets. IBM is also characterized by function-based segments that support product development and innovation for each product-based division, which include Global Markets, Integrated Supply Chain, Research, Development, and Intellectual Property.
McDonald’s has a divisional organizational structure where each division – based on geographical location – is assigned operational responsibilities and strategic objectives. The main geographical divisions are the US, internationally operated markets, and international developmental licensed markets. And on the other hand, the hierarchical leadership structure is organized around regional and functional divisions.
McKinsey & Company has a decentralized organizational structure with mostly self-managing offices, committees, and employees. There are also functional groups and geographic divisions with proprietary names.
Microsoft has a product-type divisional organizational structure based on functions and engineering groups. As the company scaled over time it also became more hierarchical, however still keeping its hybrid approach between functions, engineering groups, and management.
Nestlé has a geographical divisional structure with operations segmented into five key regions. For many years, Swiss multinational food and drink company Nestlé had a complex and decentralized matrix organizational structure where its numerous brands and subsidiaries were free to operate autonomously.
Nike has a matrix organizational structure incorporating geographic divisions. Nike’s matrix structure is also present at the regional and sub-regional levels. Managerial responsibility is segmented according to business unit (apparel, footwear, and equipment) and function (human resources, finance, marketing, sales, and operations).
Patagonia has a particular organizational structure, where its founder, Chouinard, disposed of the company’s ownership in the hands of two non-profits. The Patagonia Purpose Trust, holding 100% of the voting stocks, is in charge of defining the company’s strategic direction. And the Holdfast Collective, a non-profit, holds 100% of non-voting stocks, aiming to re-invest the brand’s dividends into environmental causes.
Samsung has a product-type divisional organizational structure where products determine how resources and business operations are categorized. The main resources around which Samsung’s corporate structure is organized are consumer electronics, IT, and device solutions. In addition, Samsung leadership functions are organized around a few career levels grades, based on experience (assistant, professional, senior professional, and principal professional).
Sony has a matrix organizational structure primarily based on function-based groups and product/business divisions. The structure also incorporates geographical divisions. In 2021, Sony announced the overhauling of its organizational structure, changing its name from Sony Corporation to Sony Group Corporation to better identify itself as the headquarters of the Sony group of companies skewing the company toward product divisions.
Starbucks follows a matrix organizational structure with a combination of vertical and horizontal structures. It is characterized by multiple, overlapping chains of command and divisions.
Tesla is characterized by a functional organizational structure with aspects of a hierarchical structure. Tesla does employ functional centers that cover all business activities, including finance, sales, marketing, technology, engineering, design, and the offices of the CEO and chairperson. Tesla’s headquarters in Austin, Texas, decide the strategic direction of the company, with international operations given little autonomy.
Toyota has a divisional organizational structure where business operations are centered around the market, product, and geographic groups. Therefore, Toyota organizes its corporate structure around global hierarchies (most strategic decisions come from Japan’s headquarter), product-based divisions (where the organization is broken down, based on each product line), and geographical divisions (according to the geographical areas under management).
Walmart has a hybrid hierarchical-functional organizational structure, otherwise referred to as a matrix structure that combines multiple approaches. On the one hand, Walmart follows a hierarchical structure, where the current CEO Doug McMillon is the only employee without a direct superior, and directives are sent from top-level management. On the other hand, the function-based structure of Walmart is used to categorize employees according to their particular skills and experience.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
