The negotiation of sharing leadership in the context of professional hierarchy: Interactions on interprofessional teams

Abstract

While there is growing recognition of leadership as a collective phenomenon, the question of how leadership is shared in the context of hierarchical asymmetry has been neglected in the collective leadership literature. Our article addresses this gap by examining how sharing leadership is negotiated in team interactions that are steeped in asymmetry deriving from the professional hierarchy. Adopting a leadership-in-interaction approach, we draw on fine-grained analysis of observed interactions on interprofessional teams from two health care organizations to compare the discursive strategies used by professionals in a superior hierarchical position to the ones used by those in inferior positions to share leadership. These strategies are organized into a matrix of interactional moves that resist or enact the professional hierarchy. Empirical vignettes are provided to demonstrate how sharing leadership and hierarchical leadership can be co-present and even intertwined in an interaction. We show that leadership is shared (or not) as a result of how the professional hierarchy gets negotiated in interactions. More specifically, we conclude that the sharing of leadership in this context tends to occur prior to decision making, especially around problem formulation, if the interactional climate allows. Furthermore, it requires concrete effort: Those in superior positions of influence mindfully relax the hierarchy whereas those in inferior positions create moments of sharing leadership through resistance and struggle.

Fifty-five years of managerial shared leadership research: A review of an empirical field

“…In the critical leadership field, there is interest in phenomena adjacent to managerial shared leadership, as well as relevant analysis tools (e.g. Alvehus, 2019; Empson, 2020; Fox and Comeau-Vallée, 2020; Crevani et al, 2010). This may result in increased interest in studying managerial shared leadership.…”

“…Naturally, such managerial constellations may also be looked at as teams, and we note a prominent focus on other types of team within the shared leadership literature (e.g. Carson et al, 2007; Ensley et al, 2006; D'Innocenzo et al, 2016; Fox and Comeau-Vallée, 2020; Wang et al, 2014). Accordingly, we chose the term shared to conceptualise the focal point of this review, drawing on Pearce and Conger’s (2003) widespread definition of shared leadership: ‘…a dynamic, interactive influence process among individuals in groups for which the objective is to lead one another to the achievement of group or organizational goals or both’ (p. 1).…”

How Leadership Moments are Enacted within a Strict Hierarchy: The case of kitchen brigades in haute cuisine restaurants

“…Studying what the leader does while the collective is directing the action may seem counterintuitive, but it may be crucial for understanding how shared leadership emerges, is maintained, and disappears. Taking an interest in everything the leader may have done before and during the shared leadership process in order to allow or impede it would extend the work of Fox and Comeau-Vallée (2020), in which they partially addressed the conditions that facilitate or hinder the emergence of this form of leadership.…”

Not One and the Same: How Personal Support Workers, Licensed Practical Nurses, and Registered Nurses Enact Collaboration in Long-Term Care

“…Such an attempt could contribute to improved collaboration. For example, researchers have recently suggested that collaborative leadership can be supported if clinicians at different hierarchical positions consciously work to foster shared decision making amongst the team and that this work begins long before the decision making stage (Fox & Comeau-Vallée, 2020).…”