members to carry responsibility), and current theorizing on the topic of leadership, which is still
largely embedded in the Industrial paradigm focusing on the individual leader (Gronn, 2002). At the
heart of this understanding is a strong commitment to the unit of analysis of a solo or stand-alone
leader. The ³,QGXVWULDO SDUDGLJP RI OHDGHUVKLS ́is based on the tripod ontology of 1) leader, 2)
followers, and 3) goals. This ontology suited the hierarchical structures of organizations in the
Industrial Era. Yet as organizations, in the face of a globalized, deregulated, highly competitive
landscape, are more and more organized horizontally, there is a need to conceptualize leadership as a
collective endeavor (on top of the traditional vertical leadership model. One of the primary objectives
of this dissertation is to explore the added value of shared leadership in terms of predicting team
effectiveness. What distinguishes teams from other traditional organizational forms is often the
absence of hierarchical authority. Although a team may have a formally appointed leader, this
individual is more commonly treated as a peer, opening the door to shared leadership (Pearce &
Conger, 2003a). Before being able to test this proposition, several pre-steps need to be taken. The
leadership literature has been dominated by a focus on the dyadic relationship, where leadership
HIIHFWLYHQHVV ZDV PHDVXUHG LQWHUPV RI VXERUGLQDWH¶ MRE VDWLVIDFWLon. In order to explain team
effectiveness, the notion of leadership should be related to organizational strategy. This is a relative
recent area of theory development which is elaborated in the next chapter. Finally shared leadership is
related to team effectiveness in chapter nine of this dissertation.
jeff_l
(Jeff_L)
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