the differences between the teams with shared leader- ship and those without are still significant in regard to collective efficacy and transactive memory system even when the other variables are controlled for.
Discussion
This study provides evidence that a work team can find a stronger sense of competence (efficacy) and a stronger transactive memory system when leadership is shared. Although this study did not demonstrate conventional levels of significance in regard to rela- tional conflict scores, the scores for teams with shared leadership were on average lower than scores of teams with traditional leadership. Leadership is traditionally considered to be an exercise in the influ- ence of a single individual, and so the idea of several people fulfilling a leader’s function for a work team does not seem readily apparent, or even manageable. Yet, teams in this study with shared leadership enjoy motivational, social, and cognitive advantages over the teams led by a single individual.
Managerial Implications There are several important implications for organi- zations associated with this study. First, shared leader- ship has the potential to provide great benefits for all types of teams, not just self-managed teams. Shared leadership provides team members with confidence,sat- isfaction,and ownership because they are part of the cre- ation and maintenance of team processes and objectives. Second, even though a leader is not designated within a team,one person may still take on this role with or with- out the overall team’s approval, and this impacts critical processes within the team that likely impact team per- formance. Finally, there are several team processes at work within teams that impact the extent to which teams meet expectations. Managers must attend to how teams are accomplishing their work and develop ways to cap- ture how functional teams are behaving in regard to leadership, motivation, socialization, and cognition
Limitations The study reported in this article has several limi- tations. First is the use of a laboratory study with students. Kerlinger and Lee (2000) considered the laboratory study as “one of the great inventions of all time” (p. 581). This is largely due to the fact that the environment is controlled so that it is possible to iso- late the examination of how the variables of interest influence each other while other variables and noise are considered relatively equal, which gives the labo- ratory setting internal validity. However, a disadvan- tage of the laboratory setting is poor external validity due to the artificiality of the research situation and the limited generalizability across different participants and situations (Kerlinger & Lee, 2000). Although the findings may not directly translate into real-world teams, in general, the underlying relation- ships are likely to occur in similar situations where individuals are allowed to self-manage their team and processes. Real issues are simulated in this study in that teams were faced with challenges, time con- straints, and dealing with individuals with different perspectives, personalities, and values. They met and worked within their teams on a consistent, weekly basis to complete tasks that had real and valuable implications for team members. It is for this reason that these teams, although not operating within actual organizations, help inform us on how self-managed teams function. The small sample size is also a limitation. There are several weaknesses associated with small sam- ples. These weaknesses include the likelihood of more error present in the study, greater possibility of selecting deviant samples, and difficulty in detect- ing a significant difference (Cook & Campbell, 1979; Kerlinger & Lee, 2000). However, because sig- nificance was detected, the last weakness was over- come with this study.
Future Research This research provides some preliminary insight into how leadership processes impact other key team processes in self-managed teams. However, more extensive research is needed to complement these findings. For example, a similar study in the field would further validate these laboratory findings. Researchers interested in this domain should also consider examining more structural processes such as timing and scheduling. Other key questions left unan- swered in this domain are what triggers the team to develop their leadership style, is it possible for teams to shift from one style to next depending on their tasks, and what role does task complexity play in leadership style emergence. The answers to these questions would provide key insight into the inner workings of self-managed teams.
Conclusion The results in this study suggest that shared lead- ership is a phenomenon worth studying seriously, not only because of what it might reveal about leadership but also what it might reveal about team function. The traditional approach to leadership essentially sees the leader as a focal point, a central processing node where responsibility ultimately resides. The central- ity of a single leader helps clarify role boundaries, procedures, and hierarchical arrangements. The centrality of the leader provides a singular source for defining direction and enabling climate, motiva- tion, and identity. In many ways, the belief in the sin- gular leader is a vestige of human societies that for millennia saw themselves properly governed by a monarch whose legitimacy was unquestioned. Yet that legitimacy was eventually questioned, and so we today find many societies thriving by successfully applying political models of shared governance. The notion of shared leadership in a work team essen- tially applies that shared governance political model. Shared leadership does not guarantee a work team’s success. Sharing leadership makes the team environment more complex, and so the team’s cohesiveness and ability to communicate become more important than if a single individual were the leader. Moreover, an attempt to share leadership within a work team could turn into a protracted power struggle. But, a single leader, no matter how gifted, cannot be right all the time (O’Toole et al., 2002), so as a practical matter, combining the talents and interests of several individuals likely increases a work team’s long-term success simply because greater resources are being devoted to the leadership function. Clearly much more needs to be done, not the least of which is establishing that shared leadership occurs outside the laboratory. If it can be observed in wider contexts, then several other questions present them- selves: What kinds of roles are shared, what mecha- nism allows a team to manage the shared roles, and how does the team maintain a decentralized order without tipping into chaos and confusion? Despite all that needs yet to be done, O’Toole et al. (2002) is likely correct in observing that “collective leadership is here to stay” (p. 82).
Appendix A Survey Items
Collective efficacy: α=.82 1. I am confident about our ability to do our tasks. 2. We have mastered the skills necessary for our tasks. 3. I am self-assured about our capabilities to perform our activities. Relationship conflict: α=.89 1. There was much anger among the team members. 2. There was much personal friction in the team during decisions. 3. There was much tension in the team during decisions. Transactive memory system: α=.85 1. The members of this team have a good “map”of each others talents and skills. 2. Team members know what task-related skills and knowledge each possess. 3. Team members know who has specialized skills and knowledge that is relevant to our work.
the differences between the teams with shared leader- ship and those without are still significant in regard to collective efficacy and transactive memory system even when the other variables are controlled for.
Discussion
This study provides evidence that a work team can find a stronger sense of competence (efficacy) and a stronger transactive memory system when leadership is shared. Although this study did not demonstrate conventional levels of significance in regard to rela- tional conflict scores, the scores for teams with shared leadership were on average lower than scores of teams with traditional leadership. Leadership is traditionally considered to be an exercise in the influ- ence of a single individual, and so the idea of several people fulfilling a leader’s function for a work team does not seem readily apparent, or even manageable. Yet, teams in this study with shared leadership enjoy motivational, social, and cognitive advantages over the teams led by a single individual.
Managerial Implications There are several important implications for organi- zations associated with this study. First, shared leader- ship has the potential to provide great benefits for all types of teams, not just self-managed teams. Shared leadership provides team members with confidence,sat- isfaction,and ownership because they are part of the cre- ation and maintenance of team processes and objectives. Second, even though a leader is not designated within a team,one person may still take on this role with or with- out the overall team’s approval, and this impacts critical processes within the team that likely impact team per- formance. Finally, there are several team processes at work within teams that impact the extent to which teams meet expectations. Managers must attend to how teams are accomplishing their work and develop ways to cap- ture how functional teams are behaving in regard to leadership, motivation, socialization, and cognition
Limitations The study reported in this article has several limi- tations. First is the use of a laboratory study with students. Kerlinger and Lee (2000) considered the laboratory study as “one of the great inventions of all time” (p. 581). This is largely due to the fact that the environment is controlled so that it is possible to iso- late the examination of how the variables of interest influence each other while other variables and noise are considered relatively equal, which gives the labo- ratory setting internal validity. However, a disadvan- tage of the laboratory setting is poor external validity due to the artificiality of the research situation and the limited generalizability across different participants and situations (Kerlinger & Lee, 2000). Although the findings may not directly translate into real-world teams, in general, the underlying relation- ships are likely to occur in similar situations where individuals are allowed to self-manage their team and processes. Real issues are simulated in this study in that teams were faced with challenges, time con- straints, and dealing with individuals with different perspectives, personalities, and values. They met and worked within their teams on a consistent, weekly basis to complete tasks that had real and valuable implications for team members. It is for this reason that these teams, although not operating within actual organizations, help inform us on how self-managed teams function. The small sample size is also a limitation. There are several weaknesses associated with small sam- ples. These weaknesses include the likelihood of more error present in the study, greater possibility of selecting deviant samples, and difficulty in detect- ing a significant difference (Cook & Campbell, 1979; Kerlinger & Lee, 2000). However, because sig- nificance was detected, the last weakness was over- come with this study.
Future Research This research provides some preliminary insight into how leadership processes impact other key team processes in self-managed teams. However, more extensive research is needed to complement these findings. For example, a similar study in the field would further validate these laboratory findings. Researchers interested in this domain should also consider examining more structural processes such as timing and scheduling. Other key questions left unan- swered in this domain are what triggers the team to develop their leadership style, is it possible for teams to shift from one style to next depending on their tasks, and what role does task complexity play in leadership style emergence. The answers to these questions would provide key insight into the inner workings of self-managed teams.
Conclusion The results in this study suggest that shared lead- ership is a phenomenon worth studying seriously, not only because of what it might reveal about leadership but also what it might reveal about team function. The traditional approach to leadership essentially sees the leader as a focal point, a central processing node where responsibility ultimately resides. The central- ity of a single leader helps clarify role boundaries, procedures, and hierarchical arrangements. The centrality of the leader provides a singular source for defining direction and enabling climate, motiva- tion, and identity. In many ways, the belief in the sin- gular leader is a vestige of human societies that for millennia saw themselves properly governed by a monarch whose legitimacy was unquestioned. Yet that legitimacy was eventually questioned, and so we today find many societies thriving by successfully applying political models of shared governance. The notion of shared leadership in a work team essen- tially applies that shared governance political model. Shared leadership does not guarantee a work team’s success. Sharing leadership makes the team environment more complex, and so the team’s cohesiveness and ability to communicate become more important than if a single individual were the leader. Moreover, an attempt to share leadership within a work team could turn into a protracted power struggle. But, a single leader, no matter how gifted, cannot be right all the time (O’Toole et al., 2002), so as a practical matter, combining the talents and interests of several individuals likely increases a work team’s long-term success simply because greater resources are being devoted to the leadership function. Clearly much more needs to be done, not the least of which is establishing that shared leadership occurs outside the laboratory. If it can be observed in wider contexts, then several other questions present them- selves: What kinds of roles are shared, what mecha- nism allows a team to manage the shared roles, and how does the team maintain a decentralized order without tipping into chaos and confusion? Despite all that needs yet to be done, O’Toole et al. (2002) is likely correct in observing that “collective leadership is here to stay” (p. 82).
Appendix A Survey Items
Collective efficacy: α=.82 1. I am confident about our ability to do our tasks. 2. We have mastered the skills necessary for our tasks. 3. I am self-assured about our capabilities to perform our activities. Relationship conflict: α=.89 1. There was much anger among the team members. 2. There was much personal friction in the team during decisions. 3. There was much tension in the team during decisions. Transactive memory system: α=.85 1. The members of this team have a good “map”of each others talents and skills. 2. Team members know what task-related skills and knowledge each possess. 3. Team members know who has specialized skills and knowledge that is relevant to our work.
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