Shared Leadership in Teams: Expanding Traditional Approaches to Leadership to Make Teams and
Organizations More EffectivePaul Tesluk
Center for Leadership and Organizational EffectivenessUB School of Management
“Leadership…the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organization” House et al., 1999
Why and how is leadership evolving to increasingly be more shared, distributed and networked, what might be the advantages for teams and organizations and what are potential approaches to build systems of shared leadership?
Changing nature of work and organizations = greater reliance on teams that…
Complex and ambiguous tasks
Dynamic environments
Differentiated, distributed expertise
Flatter systems
Morning Star
• No one has a boss/manager• Colleagues negotiate
responsibilities with peers• Each individual and team is
responsible for acquiring own tools to do their work
• No titles or promotions• Compensation decisions are
peer-based
Shared Leadership Distribution of leadership
influence across multiple team members Influence “claiming” and
“granting” exchangesMutual influence embedded in
team member interactions related to providing direction, motivation and support
Greater utilization of knowledge and expertise Team identification and mutual accountability Commitment/engagement
= Superior Relational Coordination,Employee Engagement,Customer Focus
• Customer Satisfaction
• Customer Loyalty
Greater utilization of knowledge and expertise
Team identification and mutual accountability
Commitment/engagement
Shared Leadership Performance
Sources:Wang, D., Waldman, D. A., & Zhang, Z. (2013). A meta-analysis of shared leadership and team effectiveness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(2): 181-198.D’Innocenzo, L., Mathieu, J.E., Kukenberger, M.R. (2014). A meta-analysis of different forms of shared leadership-team performance relations. Journal of Management, on-line version.
• What are potential boundary conditions of shared leadership and its relationship with team performance?
Team Performance
Shared Leadership
HighLow
Low TeamCompetence
High TeamCompetence
5.0
3.0
4.0
Source: Chiu, C, Tesluk, P. E., & Owens, B., (2014). Initiating and Utilizing Shared Leadership in Teams: The Interactive Effects of Leader Humility, Team Social Context, and Team Composition. Working Paper. UB School of Management.
Shared Leadership Enablers• Shared purpose
– Common understanding of team’s goals and purpose
• Social support– Team members’ efforts to provide
emotional and psychological strength to each other
• Voice– Team members’ input into how the
team carries out its purpose
• Team trust– team members’ willingness to assume
vulnerability with others on the teamSource: Carson, J. B., Tesluk, P. E., & Marrone, J. A. 2007. Shared leadership in teams: An investigation of antecedent conditions and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 50: 1217–1234.
• What is the role and forms of external team leadership that promote the development of shared leadership?
• Shared purpose
• Social support
• Voice
• Team trust
•Empowering Leadership– Emphasize significance of work– Encourage participative decision
making– Build efficacy of the team– Reduce bureaucracy
•Leader Humility– Demonstrate self-awareness– Acknowledge strengths and
contributions of others– Open to new ideas and feedback
SharedLeadership
Leader Humility
HighLow
Non ProactiveTeam
Highly ProactiveTeam
1.0
0.4
0.7
Source: Chiu, C, Tesluk, P. E., & Owens, B., (2014). Initiating and Utilizing Shared Leadership in Teams: The Interactive Effects of Leader Humility, Team Social Context, and Team Composition. Working Paper. UB School of Management.
• Shared purpose
• Social support
• Voice
• Team trust
•Empowering Leadership– Emphasize significance of work– Encourage participative decision
making– Build efficacy of the team– Reduce bureaucracy
•Leader Humility– Demonstrate self-awareness– Acknowledge strengths and
contributions of others– Open to new ideas and feedback
•Active Coaching– Help identify unique challenges– Assist with developing problem
solutions– Facilitate team learning and
adaptation
Adaptive Performance
Shared Leadership
HighLow
Little Active Coaching
High Active Coaching
100%
0%
50%
Source: Campbell, E.M., Bartol, K.M., Parke, M.R., Tesluk, P.E. (2014). Leading from Afar: How Virtual Team Leaders Facilitate Emergence and Effectiveness of Shared leader. Working Paper. University of Maryland and UB School of Management.
2. Teams need to have a clear sense of purpose and a high level of social support, trust and voice to engage in sharing leadership
3. Formal team leaders can enable shared leadership in their teams by engaging in empowerment, demonstrating humility, and using active coaching
1. Shared leadership is well suited for the evolving nature of work and can best utilize expertise
2. Teams need to have a clear sense of purpose and a high level of social support, trust and voice to engage in sharing leadership
3. Formal team leaders can enable shared leadership in their teams by engaging empowerment, demonstrating humility, and using active coaching
Current shared leadership projects:• Buffalo Public Schools• Interdisciplinary health care teams• Sustainable urban transformation
Additional Resources• Recommended academic research
– Carson, J. B., Tesluk, P. E., & Marrone, J. A. 2007. Shared leadership in teams: An investigation of antecedent conditions and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 50: 1217–1234.
– Wang, D., Waldman, D. A., & Zhang, Z. (2013). A meta-analysis of shared leadership and team effectiveness. Journal of Applied Psychology. 99(2): 181-198.
– D’Innocenzo, L., Mathieu, J.E., Kukenberger, M.R. (2014). A meta-analysis of different forms of shared leadership-team performance relations. Journal of Management, on-line version.
• You tube clip on shared leadership concept– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haqy9ff2BS8
• Great example of shared leadership (and followership) in sports – leadership philosophy of coach Phil Jackson– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVWqTQn-jU4– See also, Jackson’s book, “11 Rings”
• Ted Talk by General Stanley McCrystal where shared leadership is covered– http://www.ted.com/talks/stanley_mcchrystal
• Wall Street Journal editorial column– http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB121441363110903891
Contact information:
Paul TeslukCenter for Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness (CLOE)School of ManagementUniversity at Buffalo, State University of New YorkJacobs Management CenterBuffalo, NY 14260-4000phone: 716-645-3246email: [email protected]://mgt.buffalo.edu/faculty/academic/resources/cloe