I recollect paying attention to the term “Shared Leadership” in 2015, while conducting an interview for a research project I had taken up at the time. The leader spoke proudly about how theirs’ is a system of shared leadership where everyone from the top of the hierarchy to the bottom is empowered, and the onus of achieving organisational goals is on everyone.  My reaction was that of intrigue, followed by a touch of scepticism around the practicality of successfully applying it in organisational structures. I soon started observing examples of this being implemented consciously or unconsciously in corporate and social settings. 

The best natural example of shared leadership for me is the smallest family unit of father, mother, and child. In addition to their unique roles as mother and father; the accountabilities of the mother-father leadership duo most often overlap today. They share responsibilities of financial security, home-keeping, decision-making; and frequently take turns to complete tasks, whether it be school commute, diaper change or homework assistance. What enables this is their shared purpose of the child’s wellbeing. Moreover, this leadership duo also manages and efficiently sustains a whole system comprising of extended families, social circles, household service providers, education & healthcare providers, and many more.  

In the past few years, I have had opportunities to witness how some organisations are organically embracing shared leadership without perhaps knowing about the concept. Interestingly, studies on it seem to mainly focus on education and healthcare industries. These organisations, along with others who implement shared leadership, do so either with selected leaders and roles, or with teams without an appointed leader. The teams that I am currently part of follow the latter model.  

The Forces at Play 

Traditional hierarchy or vertical leadership has so far aided in structuring and running organisations; however, it comes with its challenges. Over-dependence on a single individual who leads a function/role is one of the concerns in organisations without a formalised succession plan. Sustainability hence becomes an issue; and organisations struggle to ensure continuity of operations as well as to implement long-term plans. Also, due to the hub-and-spoke nature of such structures, it often does not allow enough leeway to maximise others’ potential and leave aspects of individuals’ abilities untapped.  

In addition to this, there are other external and internal influences that are disrupting existing ways of working in organisations. People talk about the VUCA world while referring to external influences; with the pandemic, this has become even more pronounced and is pushing organisations to deliver more, in tight timelines amidst tough competition. Rather than attempting to revert to the once “normal”, the need now is to innovate and establish more flexible work practices.   

Internally, the changing employee needs are also coercing organisations to rethink structures and power distribution. Along with catering for the needs of Gen-Z, organisations now have other global trends to worry about. “The Great Resignation” which started off in the US is now showing up in UK, France, and Australia according to CNN. Money Control reports of a study where they project whooping numbers of resignation in India in the next 6 months, followed by Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia. Individuals are clearly reprioritising. Several clients I interact with, talk about wanting to make meaningful impact and are questioning norms – it is hence no longer about adhering to prescribed roles and hierarchies. 

What is in it for Organisations? 

 Among those definitions I came across, the one that resonated most with me is that from Carson and colleagues, defined in 2007. They say that Shared Leadership is a team characteristic where leadership is distributed among team members rather than focused on a single designated leader. We follow this model at SCI since the past 10 months and it has enabled us to efficiently tackle the “Unholy Trinity” (do more, with less resources and higher quality) Prof. Peter Hawkins talks about. Some attributes that make this possible for us are, similar yet complimentary skills; small numbers in the team; sense of equality that fuels self-leadership and accountability; and above all, a learning mindset. 

Research indicates that Shared Leadership contributes to developing leadership capacity; offers lower risk to organisations due to shared responsibility; contributes to organisational goals; and allows for sustained implementation of improvements. Through constant deliberation and dialogue, collective wisdom is generated which ultimately leads to innovation. Shared Leadership, in other words, might be the fireball needed to catapult the organisation into a superior performance curve.  

- Lakki Nair, Co-Founder, SCI 

Subsequent articles in this series will explore attributes that are needed for organisations to transition into a shared leadership model as well as examine challenges and watch-outs of shared leadership. Stay tuned! 

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