A Systematic Literature Review of Shared Leadership

Abstract

A Comprehensive and Systematic Review of shared leadership, an increasingly relevant leadership approach in contemporary organizations. Shared Leading is an emergent concept in leadership that brings collective decision-making and accountability distribution within teams or organizations. This review includes a systematic content analysis of existing studies on shared leadership in terms of its theoretical underpinnings, salient features, and general outcomes. As a result, the review scrutinizes results from various academic disciplines and fields, such as organizational behavior, management, and psychology, to understand how shared leadership plays itself across different context and how it affects team performance, innovation, and employee satisfaction. The identification of lacunae in current research efforts can help deepen understanding of the real-world dimensions of shared leadership and pave the way toward enhancing collaborative work environments. Besides, the review discusses measurement issues concerning shared leadership and suggests potential research as well as future research questions on shared leadership mechanisms, antecedents, and consequences.

Keywords: shared leadership, team leadership, leadership, team performance