Sharing leadership is increasingly gaining traction. Randolf and Thomas have published a comprehensive practitioner’s book on this topic with Haufe Verlag (“Shared Leadership. Zu mehr Engagement und besseren Entscheidungen dank geteilter Führung”, 2023). However, conversations about shared and distributed leadership often suffer from confusion over terminology. We clarify which models exist and which terms around shared leadership are in circulation.
It’s important to understand: There is no single model for sharing leadership. Rather, there is a continuum in the mode of leadership and collaboration that ranges from traditional hierarchical leadership by a disciplinary manager to complete self-organization in groups without the involvement of a disciplinary manager.
In this continuum, the degree of personal responsibility and the scope of decision-making and creative freedom on the team’s side continuously increases, while the involvement of the formal leader continuously decreases. The individual terms must be examined within this context.
Glossary of Shared Leadership
(Between Two)
We speak of “shared leadership” with regard to shared leadership models in which two formal leaders share a disciplinary leadership position. The following terms are in circulation.
Dual Leadership
This is the most common term for two people who jointly assume leadership and bear responsibility for a company, a team, or a task. Dual leadership usually comprises two leaders who share responsibility but have clearly separated areas of competence. An example of this is a CEO and a CFO. A medical director and an administrative director of a hospital also meet these criteria.
Co-Leadership
This term should establish itself in the medium term for shared leadership of multiple people in a disciplinary leadership position. The foundational work by Stefanie Junghans and Janina Schönitz titled “We love Co-Leadership. Jobsharing als Antwort auf eine veränderte Arbeitswelt” (Vahlen, 2023) could contribute to this. The two authors provide extensive insight into proven models of shared leadership. Stefanie Junghans also contributed to the co-leadership chapter in Randolf and Thomas’s Haufe book.
Topsharing
This term conveys roughly the same as co-leadership and plays with the association “job sharing at the top level.” The term is therefore also well suited to emphasize the difference from traditional dual leadership consisting of two clearly separated leadership jobs.
Glossary of Distributed Leadership (in Teams)
We speak of “distributed leadership” with regard to shared leadership models in which individual leadership tasks are delegated to the team by a disciplinary manager or are spontaneously assumed by team members with the manager’s approval. This assumption of leadership responsibility can be temporary or permanent and can be illustrated by corresponding titles (“people lead,” “business lead,” etc.).
This also includes models of complete self-organization that dispense entirely with formal leaders (Randolf and Thomas describe this in their book using the example of the Dutch mortgage broker Viisi). Such models often draw on approaches from holacracy or sociocracy.
The following terms are in circulation.
Distributed Leadership
This term emphasizes the distribution of leadership tasks. It is therefore particularly suitable where leadership tasks are clearly separated from one another within the team and highlighted by titles. The classic Scrum framework with Product Owner, Scrum Master, and team member is an example of this. But a mixed board consisting of Chief Executive Officer, Chief Sales Officer, Chief Finance Officer, etc., would also fall under this category.
Collective Leadership
This term emphasizes the collective exercise of leadership—usually in rotation. It is used by leadership researchers Sigrid Endres and Jürgen Weibler in their book “Plural Leadership. Eine zukunftsweisende Alternative zur One-Man-Show” (Springer, 2019) for the variant of distributed leadership that exhibits the highest degree of fluidity in leadership roles. The metaphor of the “jazz combo” is often used for this model. Our Auctority “CollActive Leadership Program” alludes to this.
Collegial Leadership
This term can be traced back to the foundational work by Bernd Oestereich and Claudia Schröder “Das kollegial geführte Unternehmen. Ideen und Praktiken für die agile Organisation von morgen” (Vahlen, 2017). This book remains the benchmark for all systemic aspects surrounding the introduction and practice of distributed leadership in organizations.
Collaborative Leadership
This term is closely related to the two aforementioned terms and also emphasizes the aspect that leadership in this model is a collective task. The globally authoritative Project Management Institute (PMI) uses this term to describe a contemporary leadership style in projects.
Team-based Leadership
This term should also be seen in the same category as the aforementioned terms. Finnish team trainer and Agile Coach Karl-Johan Spiik modifies this term in a useful practical guide to “community-led leadership” (“Community-led Leadership. How Shared Leadership Is Created and What Its Requirements Are”; Karlex, 2023).
Shared Ownership
This term emphasizes the assumption of responsibility by largely self-organized teams and became known in the course of the headline-making reorganization of the Bayer Group under Bill Anderson. Whether it will endure and remain positively associated remains to be seen.
Jedership
An original variation of the vocabulary discussed here was coined by Berlin team coach Alexander Keller. He calls his book, which also deals with ideas and practices of distributed leadership: “Jedership. Warum Führung alle etwas angeht” (self-published; 2nd edition, 2021).
Glossary of Related Terms
Finally, the following terms are also relevant in connection with models of shared and distributed leadership, as they are theoretically and practically related to shared leadership models.
Emergent Leadership
Shared leadership is the term under which academic leadership research primarily investigates phenomena of distributed leadership. Closely related to this are phenomena of how leadership emerges in groups when it is not marked and predetermined by formal leadership roles. This research is conducted under the keyword “emergent leadership.”
Empowering Leadership
This leadership style can be seen as a prerequisite for shared leadership to succeed in groups or organizations at all. Research by St. Gallen leadership expert Heike Bruch and colleagues has demonstrated this in studies (LINK). Thomas and Randolf discuss empowering leadership extensively in their book.
Servant Leadership
This term is used especially in agile contexts for a leadership attitude that includes elements of empowering leadership. It goes back to essays by the American management thinker Robert Greenleaf and is also suitable for describing the requirements for disciplinary managers in shared leadership models.
Further Information and Support
If you want to know more about the topic or need advice, training, coaching, or support in introducing or effectively implementing models of shared and distributed leadership, please feel free to contact us.
