The effects of shared leadership on team performance

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between shared leadership and team performance at the team level. Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, the authors examine whether shared leadership is associated with team performance through team positive psychological capital (PsyCap). This study further examines whether task-oriented and relationship-oriented shared leadership affect team performance differently.Design/methodology/approachMulti-source survey data were obtained from 92 team leaders and 319 employees. An aggregation approach was used to analyze the data at the team level.FindingsA high level of shared leadership positively influences team performance through the mediation of team PsyCap. Moreover, relationship-oriented shared leadership is positively associated with team performance through team PsyCap, while task-oriented shared leadership is negatively associated with team performance without the mediating effect of team PsyCap.Practical implicationsBy focusing on the negative effects of task-oriented shared leadership and the positive effects of relationship-oriented shared leadership and team PsyCap on team performance, this study suggests new ways to manage team performance effectively and extends shared leadership literature.Originality/valueThis study applied COR theory to analyze the effect of shared leadership mediated by team PsyCap on team performance. It contributes to shared leadership literature by shedding light on the negative effects of task-oriented shared leadership and on the positive aspects of relationship-oriented shared leadership.

Sharing leadership behaviors in virtual teams: effects of shared leadership behaviors on team member satisfaction and productivity

“…If this is transferred to the present sample of the study, in which shared leadership is recorded as an emergent phenomenon in primarily hierarchical organizational structures, one explanation for the negative correlation could be that team members have the expectation that relations-oriented leadership behaviors will continue to be adopted by the official leader and therefore evaluate it as negatively, when these are taken over by team members. Interestingly, Han et al (2021) also found the opposite effect for relations-oriented behaviors. Here, they postulate a positive relationship mediated through team psychological capital.…”

“…Nevertheless, we chose to use self-ratings variables in this study to gain insight into individual experiences with shared leadership. This could also be a reason for conflicting results with previous studies on behavioral dimensions, such as Han et al, 2021. Future studies looking at employees' experiences with shared leadership should be expanded, for example, by measuring performance with additional objective sources. This in turn implies that a multilevel approach should be considered when examining shared leadership behaviors to supplement research on the effects of shared leadership behaviors on team outcomes.…”

“…Sweeney (2022) captured the frequency of shared leadership behaviors taken over by team members and found that task-oriented leadership behaviors like coordinating leadership tasks are shared among team members, as are relations-oriented leadership behaviors such as providing support and consideration to others within a team. A study by Han et al (2021) found that STOL tasks is negatively associated with team performance, while SROL tasks is positively associated with team performance mediated through team psychological capital, which describes a form of job and personal resources.…”

The impact of digital leadership on sustainable performance: a systematic literature review

“…Two studies on shared leadership were conducted in 2021. Han et al. (2021) discovered that shared leadership can affect team performance while Liu et al.…”

“…Han et al (2021) discovered that shared leadership can affect team performance whileLiu et al (2022) found that shared leadership affect team members to act on their own initiative and be creative. In 2018, Ribeiro et al studied the effect of authentic leadership on corporate citizenship behaviour, staff innovation as well as personal performance Scheepers and Storm (2019).…”