Over the past few weeks, I have learned some valuable information about leadership skills. The most exciting part of this journey has been learning the different ways in which leaders are made. According to Northouse (2021), theories about leadership have shifted from the idea that leaders are born to the concept of how leadership develops. I am particularly interested in developing leadership within a group or team. A team has been described as an interdependent group working towards a common goal (Homan et al., 2020). Teams possess varying characteristics as they can be diverse in that they may meet face to face or virtual (Northouse, 2021). Thus, one can accurately state that leadership can be a shareable role where the leader is willing to share leadership responsibility amongst their group members (PSU, WC, 2022, L9, pg 8). I will describe my experience at a non-governmental organization that employed a leadership style unlike any other I had encountered.
Shared leadership became a reality for me when I volunteered at a non-governmental organization essentially concerned with providing computers to needy children in South America. The organization was structured in a way I had never encountered before. I had been previously used to organizations with a hierarchical setup, where the Managing Director was primarily responsible for directing the business and offering strategy. In essence, leadership would usually rest with him. In the NGO, the structure was different as a Board governed the organization. Such a structure is consistent with the theory of shared leadership, where the leadership responsibilities are shared amongst members (Wang et al., 2017). The Board consisted of 7 members who were well versed in different areas, indicated by the fact that some came from a finance background, human resource, technology, socio-political, and a community representative.
I was surprised to learn that the organization did not have a specific person designated as the chairperson. According to Northouse (2021), for shared leadership to be effective, there should be a structure supporting lateral decision-making rather than the traditional set up. This organization did just that, with the issues handled through what they referred to as the coordinator. The coordinator was chosen based on their knowledge of the matter at hand so for instance, when faced with a problem requiring financial acumen, the board member would serve as the coordinator. Such an arrangement is essential to shared leadership, where the team members are expected to step forward when necessary to lead the group and to have the ability to step back when a fellow team member is better placed to offer their wisdom (Northouse, 2021, p 534). The Board, once it had unanimously selected the coordinator for a major issue, would allow the coordinator to decide then whether they would like to be involved in a hands-on manner or monitor the team, which is an essential part of the theory of shared leadership (Northouse, 2021, p 541).
As I learned more about the team leadership theory, I retrospectively understood how the arrangement enabled the organization to succeed. According to Northouse (2021), team effectiveness is measurable by the ability of the team to accomplish a task and maintain such tasks. A primary job that came to the attention of the Board during my time there was a shipping crisis that made it impossible for us to supply computers to Ecuador in time for the launch of a computer lab at the particular school we had engaged. Despite being from a human resource background, the team member who was known for possessing excellent negotiating skills was able to engage the stakeholders with the view of postponing the launch to ensure that all preparations were properly in place. Negotiating skills are vital within team leadership, as a leader is expected to be able to source information and contacts from different areas to ensure the team performs at its optimum level (PSU, WC, 2022, L9, pg 5). The human resource-focused board member was able to contact shippers and the school’s management to resolve the crisis.
The management of the crisis reflected the Team Effectiveness Leadership Model that Ginnett developed to enable teams to perform (PSU, WC, 2022, L9, pg 6). As earlier stated, the board members considered the input of every member when faced with a crisis, ensuring that a coordinator had the right capabilities to guide the team through the issue. The process is an integral part of the team leadership theory since members must clearly understand what the leader wishes to do (PSU, WC, 2022, L9, pg 6). The rules within the organization made it mandatory for the coordinator to delineate their points clearly before any course of action and to take into consideration the critical inputs of the team. Output is also a vital part of Ginnett’s models, where the leader is encouraged to consider output prior to action (PSU, WC, 2022, L9, pg 6). The output of any decision was extensively discussed amongst team members before any implementation.
In conclusion, I witnessed the impact of shared leadership first-hand at the non-governmental organization I worked. The benefits were clear. The team had a clear vision on what to do and the leadership can be described as collaborative. Members were also able to identify crises whenever they arose quickly, and the role of the coordinator enabled problems to be solved promptly. Leadership within the group was empowering, since each member felt as if they were responsible for the decisions of the organization. The flexible structure made it easy for members to utilize their key competencies, such as networking and financial acumen. One negative I noted was the over-reliance on a member who possessed multiple skills. However, the member was gracious enough to allow others to take charge of the decision making.
Homan, A. C., Gündemir, S., Buengeler, C., & Van Kleef, G. A. (2020). Leading diversity: Towards a theory of functional leadership in diverse teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(10), 1101-1128. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000482
Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE.
Wang, L., Jiang, W., Liu, Z., & Ma, X. (2017). Shared leadership and team effectiveness: The examination of LMX differentiation and servant leadership on the emergence and consequences of shared leadership. Human Performance, 30(4), 155-168. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2017.1345909
Wu, Q., & Cormican, K. (2021). Shared leadership and team effectiveness: An investigation of whether and when in engineering design teams. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.569198
To start I think it is wonderful that you got to witness team leadership first hand. I enjoyed reading about you experience of volunteering at a non-governmental organization essentially concerned with providing computers to needy children in South America. I am sure that it was a wonderful experience and very fulfilling. I feel that your example of shared leadership in this instance is on point when relating to the book and lecture lesson. In order to make the organization that you volunteered at work, it was important that there were different perspectives and knowledge to reach the over all goal. With team leadership, this enabled the group to have this pool of different ideas, as well as approaches. It was important that all chair members had a say and were able to come to an agreement. For the instance the best choice for leadership happened to be team leadership in order to accomplish the goal of providing computers to needy children in South America.
Very nice post!