scholarly journals The Emergence of Shared Leadership in Newly Formed Teams With an Initial Structure of Vertical Leadership: A Longitudinal Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrien Fransen ◽  
Ellen Delvaux ◽  
Batja Mesquita ◽  
Stef Van Puyenbroeck

The importance of high-quality leadership for team effectiveness is widely recognized, with recent viewpoints arguing shared leadership to be a more powerful predictor than vertical leadership. To identify changes in leadership structures over time, we longitudinally tracked the leadership structure of 27 newly formed teams ( N = 195), all having an initial structure of vertical leadership. Our findings demonstrated that the average team leadership strengthened over the course of the 24-week project and leadership tended to become more distributed among team members. Regarding the antecedents of these changes, we found evidence that the more team members are perceived as warm or competent, the higher their perceived influence. Finally, examining the consequences of these changes, the leadership structure was found to be related with team performance in that teams with higher average leadership perceptions performed better. These findings underpin the importance of shared leadership, thereby suggesting leaders to empower their team members.

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 203-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Engel Small ◽  
Joan R. Rentsch

Shared leadership is an emergent team process defined by the distribution of leadership functions among multiple team members. Past empirical research on shared leadership has operationalized it as the overall quantity of leadership in the team, neglecting the essence of the conceptual definition – the distribution of leadership. In order to align the conceptual definition with an operational one, we examined shared leadership as network centralization using social network analysis. Using this operational definition, shared leadership was positively related to team performance. Additionally, longitudinal analyses revealed that shared leadership increased over time and was differentially related to antecedents of trust and team collectivism.


2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 105-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Elisabeth Hoch ◽  
Craig L. Pearce ◽  
Linda Welzel

In the present paper we examine the moderating effects of age diversity and team coordination on the relationship between shared leadership and team performance. Using a field sample of 96 individuals in 26 consulting project teams, team members assessed their team’s shared leadership and coordination. Six to eight weeks later, supervisors rated their teams’ performance. Results indicated that shared leadership predicted team performance and both age diversity and coordination moderated the impact of shared leadership on team performance. Thereby shared leadership was positively related to team performance when age diversity and coordination were low, whereas higher levels of age diversity and coordination appeared to compensate for lower levels of shared leadership effectiveness. In particular strong effects of shared leadership on team performance were evident when both age diversity and coordination were low, whereas shared leadership was not related to team performance when both age diversity and coordination were high.


Author(s):  
Kristi M. Lewis Tyran ◽  
Craig K. Tyran

As globalization and the prevalence of electronic communication technology has become more widespread, organizations are adapting and changing at a rapid pace. Many organizations are using “virtual teams” of people working across space and time as an organizational structure to enhance organizational flexibility and creativity in this changing environment (Duarte & Snyder, 1999; Townsend, DeMarie, & Hendrickson, 1998). As virtual teams become a more popular organizational tool, many researchers have begun to explore ways in which the performance of such teams may be enhanced (Cohen & Gibson, 2003). One aspect of teamwork that has traditionally had an important impact on team performance is team leadership. Leaders often facilitate effective task performance within a team. By assigning tasks to individuals with the skills, knowledge and abilities to perform best, as well as structuring the team to best accomplish its tasks, a leader can greatly increase the effectiveness and efficiency of a team (Hooijberg, Hunt, & Dodge, 1997; McGrath, 1984; O’Connell, Doverspike, & Cober, 2002). In addition to task-focused behaviors, leaders also motivate, coach and mentor team members toward higher levels of performance (Bass, 1985; Conger & Kanungo, 1998).


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Ming-Ling Chuang ◽  
Alexandra Galli-Debicella ◽  
Xiaoqi Han

Leaders have a significant role in teams and groups, as they affect employee performance, motivation, and productivity. Given the significant position that leaders occupy in teams and group projects, this paper argues that it is important to simultaneously examine how trust in a leader, team interactions, and team performance interact with each other. Specifically, we formulated three hypotheses: First, we predicted a positive relationship between the level of trust that team members have in their team leader and the level of team performance; second, we predicted a positive relationship between the level of trust in a leader and the level of team interactions; last, we predicted that increased trust in a leader will increase team interactions and team performance. To test the model, we utilized data from 112 MBA students engaged in a web-based simulation game wherein students develop and execute the strategies for manufacturing and distributing a product. We used structural equation modeling to test these hypotheses. Our results support the importance and value of leader trust in team interactions. The results also indicate that team interaction positively influences team performance. However, they do not support our hypothesis that trust in a leader will positively influence team performance. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 558-584
Author(s):  
Tessa Horila ◽  
Marko Siitonen

This study analyzes how team members perceive changes in relational leadership processes over time. Interview data from three virtual teams ( N = 18) were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. The findings illustrate how ideals of well-functioning leadership and teamwork communication can differ both between and within teams at different times. Team members may perceive benefits of the passage of time in teamwork, including experienced closeness, adjustment, and clarification of practices, as well as challenges such as rigidity and historical baggage. Organizations and teams may experience a shift in the ideals of leadership, but adapting to and adopting new forms of leadership over time may not be unproblematic. The findings also highlight how relational leadership is neither stable nor linear in its development. Overall, the study contributes to leadership and team research by increasing understanding of the relational construction of leadership among naturally occurring teams and by challenging assumptions about how leadership and time are perceived by team members. The implications of studying subjective time in connection with relational leadership are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 30-32

Purpose This paper aims to examine the influence of shared leadership on team performance in terms of quantity and quality and in addition the moderating effect of task complexity on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered from 26 teams of students from a major university in Germany who completed a laboratory team decision-making exercise. Findings The results suggest that teams sharing leadership showed better team performance and made fewer errors. They achieved higher levels of quality of performance. In addition, if the team members viewed the task as highly complex then the quality of their performance was increased. Practical implications Therefore for organizations to optimize team performance shared leadership should be promoted, the SNA should be used to develop interventions and training and influencing perceptions of task complexity should be considered as an important strategy to stimulate shared leadership in teams. Originality/value This paper has an original approach by testing for the first time how perceived task complexity moderates the relationship between shared leadership and team performance and by developing an original team task to investigate shared leadership.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 298-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Müller ◽  
Sandra Pintor ◽  
Jürgen Wegge

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the effect of shared leadership on both quantity and quality of team performance, predicting that shared leadership enhances performance by affecting quantity (level of performance) as well as quality (team errors). In addition, this paper also investigates the role of perceived task complexity in moderating the effect of sharing leadership on team performance.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 26 teams (N= 78) were asked to work on an interdependent team-task, where they engaged in a laboratory team decision-making exercise.FindingsResults revealed that teams sharing leadership made fewer errors. They achieved higher levels of quality of performance. As predicted, this effect was stronger when team members perceived the task as highly complex, even though objective task difficulty was constant.Research limitations/implicationsThis study extends current literature on shared leadership by documenting that sharing the lead in teams can also improve the quality of team performance and that perceived complexity of tasks is an important moderator of this effect.Practical implicationsBased on the findings, influencing perceptions of task complexity can be considered as an important strategy to stimulate shared leadership in teams.Originality/valueUsing social network approach, the authors showed that shared leadership is an important tool for preventing team errors and offer a new explanation for inconsistent findings from recent meta-analyses by showing that perceived task complexity moderates the effects of shared leadership. Additionally, this study offers an original team task for investigating shared leadership in teams.


2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jandre Van Zyl ◽  
Karl Hofmeyr

Purpose: Globalisation and the increased complexity of organisations create the need for alternative leadership approaches that can harness the collective intellectual capital that exists within the dispersed employees of organisations.Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative study explored how shared leadership can be facilitated in internationally dispersed non-formal teams through increased team connectedness, leader humility, empowering leadership, participative leadership and quality leader-member exchanges. The study explored the perspectives of 12 purposively sampled internationally dispersed team members, who represented three different functional nonformal teams.Findings/results: As dispersion of teams increases, some traditional leadership approaches become less effective. Shared leadership, however, has greater effects on team performance when team dispersion increases.Practical implications: The study offers a theoretical framework of leadership in internationally dispersed non-formal teams, which serves as a basis for future empirical research. It provides leaders of teams and organisations, as well as human resource practitioners with guidance on how to achieve the benefits of shared leadership of teams in this context. Participants represented nine nationalities, dispersed across eight countries, on four continents.Originality/value: Studies into shared leadership have increased over the past decade; however, the antecedents that facilitate shared leadership are still not exhaustive, and the majority of studies have been in co-located and formal teams. This study provides insight into how non-formal leaders can facilitate the emergence of shared leadership in the context of dispersed, non-formal teams.


2020 ◽  
pp. 156-176
Author(s):  
Scott Tannenbaum ◽  
Eduardo Salas

This chapter is about coaching or, more specifically, team leadership. We specify seven essential team leadership functions: (a) ensuring clarity and alignment; (b) holding teammates accountable; (c) removing obstacles and garnering support; (d) managing team emotions and attitudes; (e) fostering psychological safety; (f) encouraging participation and empowerment; and (g) promoting learning and adaptation. Each function has a key set of behaviors associated with it. Team members other than the leader can at times demonstrate some of those leadership behaviors. The functions and behaviors specify the “what” of effective team leadership. The authors also consider the “how” of leadership by highlighting the practical implications of four leadership theories: transformational leadership, shared leadership, servant leadership, and civil leadership.


2020 ◽  
pp. 204138662097211
Author(s):  
Ashley A. Niler ◽  
Jessica R. Mesmer-Magnus ◽  
Lindsay E. Larson ◽  
Gabriel Plummer ◽  
Leslie A. DeChurch ◽  
...  

Abundant research supports a cognitive foundation to teamwork. Team cognition describes the mental states that enable team members to anticipate and to coordinate. Having been examined in hundreds of studies conducted in board rooms, cockpits, nuclear power plants, and locker rooms, to name a few, we turn to the question of moderators: Under which conditions is team cognition more and less strongly related to team performance? Random effects meta-analytic moderator analysis of 107 independent studies ( N = 7,778) reveals meaningful variation in effect sizes conditioned on team composition and boundary factors. The overall effect of team cognition on performance is ρ = .35, though examining this effect by these moderators finds the effect can meaningfully vary between ρ = .22 and ρ = .42. This meta-analysis advances team effectiveness theory by moving past the question of “what is important?” to explore the question of “when and why is it important?” Results indicate team cognition is most strongly related to performance for teams with social category heterogeneity ( ρ = .42), high external interdependence ( ρ = .41), as well as low authority differentiation ( ρ = .35), temporal dispersion ( ρ = .36), and geographic dispersion ( ρ = .35). Functional homogeneity and temporal stability (compositional factors) were not meaningful moderators of this relationship. The key takeaway of these findings is that team cognition matters most for team performance when—either by virtue of composition, leadership, structure, or technology—there are few substitute enabling conditions to otherwise promote performance.


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