For managerSeminare magazine, Randolf and Thomas look at the topic of shared leadership with a view to communication techniques and skills. The big question is: Where are the levers for bringing shared leadership to life?
They focus on four areas of action:
1. the trust space: an environment characterised by trust and psychological safety is fundamental. Initiative – which is essential for shared leadership – can only be taken if you operate in a fear-free space. Open dialogue, active questioning and listening, and our WIDL (What’s the point?) conversation are the enablers.
2. the performance space: Creating value in a team is a joint endeavour. This requires a focus on (internal/external) customers and clear goals. Honest and appreciative feedback, a committed culture of discussion and solution-focussed persuasion talks play a decisive role here.
3. the competence space: recognising and promoting individual strengths, building conflict resilience and supporting each other as a coaching partner – these are important pillars for building shared leadership.
4. the area of responsibility: Shared leadership is characterised by the fact that decisions are made quickly and on a sound basis and everyone courageously takes responsibility. This is successful if everyone in the team knows how to make smart, rational decisions, learn from mistakes and hold goal-orientated meetings.
You can find the article either online or in the may issue of the managerSeminare magazine (both german only).
For more information and evidence from practice, it is worth taking a look directly at the book „Shared Leadership. Zu mehr Engagement und besseren Ergebnissen dank geteilter Führung“ (german only, click here to visit the Haufe-Shop).
If you would like to know more about this topic or need advice, training, coaching or support with the introduction or effective implementation of shared and distributed leadership models, please do not hesitate to contact us.
