When we think of leadership we usually think of it as one person leading a group of individuals towards a common goal. In Chapter 11, we shift that focus to a type of leadership called shared leadership. As defined by the book shared leadership is " a dynamic, interactive influence process among individuals in groups for which the objective is to lead one another to the achievement of group or organizational goals or both." More simply put by the book shared leadership occurs when group members actively and intentionally shift the role of leader to one another as needed by the environment or circumstances in which the group operates.
The main idea of shared leadership is that the role of leadership does not belong to one person but it belongs to the entire group as they move towards the organization's goal. This is very different from traditional theories of leadership but I really like this theory. I agree that leadership is not always one person's responsibility it can come from any part of the group depending on the certain situation. I feel that if a group limits itself to having only one leader then they are holding themselves back from making any type of advancement. If group memebers know that their voice and opinion will be heard then they will be more motivated to work for their group. I believe an organization or team that has a group of leaders is more powerful than a organization with one leader. For example, if a group has a bunch of different leaders who have different talents then they can put forth their talents when the group needs them. It can depend on the project or situation at hand. What do you guys think? Do you think shared leadership is a good thing?
Finally, have you guys ever been apart of a team, organization, or job where this was happening? If you have then do you feel it benefited or hurt the group?
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
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